Sunday, April 12, 2020

United Against Poverty Helps Clients Regain Independence


The New Jersey-based author of Beyond Time Out: From Chaos to Calm, retired child psychologist Dr. Beth Grosshans helps parents develop strategies to establish boundaries with children and create a more balanced family dynamic. Additionally, Dr. Beth Grosshans serves on the steering committee for United Against Poverty, a charitable organization that offers resources for Florida residents living in poverty.

Since 2003, United Against Poverty has worked to break cycles of poverty by operating food assistance programs throughout southern Florida. In addition to emergency food supplies and highly subsidized groceries, the organization operates the Success Training for Employment Program (STEP) to address the root causes of poverty. Through career training and coaching, the program equips clients with skills that help them regain dignity and become self-reliant.

Often, United Against Poverty clients give back to the organization by volunteering, in the process learning organizational and administrative skills required for nonprofit work. When job openings arise, United Against Poverty often hires from this volunteer pool in order to further empower and uplift its clients.

Friday, January 18, 2019

When and How to Give Children Choices


Accomplished child psychologist Dr. Beth Grosshans retired from her private Princeton, New Jersey practice and now leads informative workshops and lectures on parenting, child development, and positive family dynamics. In her book Beyond Time Out: From Chaos to Calm, Dr. Beth Grosshans details several areas where family dynamics can become imbalanced, including during any decision-making process.

Giving children too many or inappropriate choices is a common parenting mistake that can inadvertently cause anxiety in children and lead to disruptive behaviors. In a misguided attempt to promote independence, parents may give children the power to make a decision that is beyond their cognitive or emotional capacity. 

Also, parents may not be consistent with the types of choices a child can make, for example, allowing them to choose their dinner one night, but not the next. This can cause confusion for the child and result in boundary-testing behavior. 

Instead, parents should only offer a child a choice between two to three options for age-appropriate decisions. If a child cannot grasp the implications of the decision, then it should be left to the parents to decide. Some examples of age-appropriate decisions include a three year old choosing one of three sweaters to wear, or a 10 year old deciding between setting the table or washing the dishes.

Monday, January 7, 2019

How Disappointment is Beneficial to Kids


Retired New Jersey-based child psychologist Beth Grosshans has more than two decades of experience. She has leveraged her extensive experience in the field to guide parents with Beyond Time Out, a parenting book that enlightens ineffective parenting approaches and provides guidance on reestablishing control. In this book, Beth Grosshans addresses issues resulting from parents exalting specialness in their kids and avoiding childhood disappointment.

Feeling disappointed is unpleasant for people of all ages since it involves feelings of loss and discouragement. Naturally, you don’t want your child to experience negative emotions such as this, but as a result, you may do everything in your power to keep your child from experiencing this particular emotion. However, disappointment plays a major role in how children develop emotionally, socially, and intellectually. 

Without disappointment, children cannot develop the tools they need to handle life’s ups and downs as adults, nor can they develop the creative thinking, emotional resilience, and collaboration skills they could otherwise rely on during the rest of their childhood and adulthood.

Instead of going out of your way to prevent disappointment in your kids, focus on teaching them how to cope with disappointment in a healthy way. To do this, you must first have a good attitude towards disappointment. Show children that disappointment is a normal part of life and that they can learn from feeling disappointed. 

It’s also important that you do not overpraise your children when they feel disappointed or save them from setbacks. Doing so is detrimental to children since these behaviors teach them to depend on praise for validation or to avoid trying new things.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

3 Benefits Montessori School Children Enjoy


Princeton, New Jersey, clinical child psychologist Dr. Beth Grosshans has 25 years of experience working with a variety of adolescent patients and their families. Over the course of 13 years as a course instructor at the Princeton Center for Teacher Education, Dr. Beth Grosshans provided child development education to teachers pursuing work in Montessori schools. She enjoyed a strong relationship with Montessori educators for the duration of her career.

Children enjoy a number of benefits when learning in a Montessori classroom compared to students at a traditional school. A child-centered approach to learning, for example, is a cornerstone of Montessori education. Each student is afforded the opportunity to learn at his or her own pace and is encouraged to pursue topics that generate a natural curiosity. Aspects of child-centered learning can be seen in every element of a Montessori classroom, including child-sized furniture and a classroom design that puts every educational aid within the child’s reach.

Despite this highly individualized approach to learning, Montessori students also enjoy numerous opportunities for cooperative play. Every station in a Montessori classroom has been designed to facilitate a love of learning in children, while cooperative interactions provide insight into important topics, such as community building and respect for others.

Lastly, Montessori educators are regarded as facilitators of the learning experience, or guides, rather than lecturers or all-knowing authoritative figures. This approach to the teacher-student relationship, like most elements of a Montessori classroom, has been implemented so that children can form their own learning styles and continue to pursue knowledge, rather than push back against excessive instruction.

Monday, January 8, 2018

Three Must-Read Biographical Books Available in the Met Opera Shop


Beth Grosshans is a retired New Jersey-based clinical psychologist who regularly delivers presentations on child development and co-authored the book Beyond Time-Out: From Chaos to Calm. Beyond her professional pursuits, Beth Grosshans is a New York Metropolitan Opera advisory board member. 

In addition to presenting operatic performances on the stage and through TV and radio, the Met allows interested viewers and supporters the opportunity to purchase souvenirs from its Met Opera Shop. Among its books, the shop has 19 biographies, including the three below.

1. Maria by Callas - Available for $195, this 260-page hardcover biography details the life of legendary opera singer Maria Callas. It was comprised by filmmaker Tom Volf, who traveled the world to interview her closest friends, including her longtime best friend Nadia Stancioff and her favorite conductor Georges PrĂȘtre.

2. Ballerina Body - Written by celebrated ballerina Misty Copeland, this health and fitness book details secrets on how to achieve glowing health and a lean, strong body through regiments followed by Copeland as well as excerpts from her personal journal. It's listed at $30 and $27 for members.

3. Call Me Debbie - This 288-page paperback biography has the subtitle of "True Confessions of a Down-to-Earth Diva." In it, renowned soprano Deborah Voigt details her journey to stardom in a completely unguarded and revealing memoir that touches on her battles with addictions and other self-destructive tendencies. It's available for $15.99.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Opportunities for Children at Princeton Montessori School


As a clinical psychologist practicing in New Jersey, Dr. Beth Grosshans has spent many years helping children reach their potential. Dr. Beth Grosshans also serves as an instructor at the Princeton Center for Teacher Education, which trains teachers for the Princeton Montessori School. 

Using the Montessori philosophy of instilling social confidence and a love of learning, the school provides several enrichment programs for developing life and academic skills. 

One such activity is Tune in Time. A trained yoga and mindfulness teacher guides primary and middle school students through de-stressing exercises that benefit them inside and outside class. 

Eco Binding uses ecological concepts to promote awareness of natural systems. The school’s own animals and plants (including chickens and a meditation garden) create an atmosphere that facilitates appreciation for the inter-relatedness of life. 

After-school clubs also encourage various student interests. Featured 2017-2018 groups include Tae Kwon Do, basketball, rock music, chess, ukulele, and French culture. Most clubs meet weekly at 3, 4, or 6:30 pm.

Friday, November 17, 2017

Identifying the Pushover Parent


While practicing as a clinical psychologist in New Jersey, Beth Grosshans, PhD, guided a practice that met the complex needs of families, including those dealing with out-of-control children. In her book Beyond Time-Out: From Chaos to Calm, Beth Grosshans, PhD, details corrective strategies that help parents halt the transfer of power to their children and develop effective leadership skills. 

One type of parent Dr. Grosshans defines is the “pushover parent,” who takes personally their children’s protests, such as, "You're unfair!” or “You're so mean.” These and more subtle forms of resistance can result in parents ultimately giving up and telling themselves, “There’s nothing more that I can do," as they give in to their children’s demands.

Lacking an internalized power structure, parents scrabble for authority through stock phrases such as, "Santa won't give you any toys this year.” Alternatively, they may provide children with a long list of the bad things that may befall them if they don’t heed their directives, such as “Wash your hands, germs will make you sick.” Dr. Grosshans’ book provides concrete ways in which parents can use the language and behavior that is effective in rebalancing the parent-child relationship.