Ripples of Resilience

When your child is melting down, or you’re quietly spiraling in your own head, generic advice like “just calm down” can feel useless. We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy, a clinical child psychologist and parenting coach at A Mindful Village, to get specific about coping skills that actually work and why resilience is something we can train, not something we either have or don’t. We start by clari...

The fastest way to lose control of a moment is to fuse with the feeling inside it. When we say “I am angry” or “I am anxious,” we often get pulled into the tornado of the emotion, and the reaction takes the wheel. We want something better for ourselves and for our kids: more space, more choice, and more connection. We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy, clinical child psychologist and parenting coac...

Your child’s calendar can look “successful” and still be quietly exhausting them. Marissa Vicere sits down with Dr. Peter Montminy, clinical child psychologist and parenting coach at A Mindful Village, to get real about overscheduling, stress, and what a healthier rhythm actually looks like for children and teens. We start by challenging the myth that balance is a destination. Dr. Montminy reframe...

A single sentence from a child can hit like a brick: “I can’t do this.” We get why it happens, and we also know how quickly that belief can harden into a fixed mindset if the adults around them don’t have the right tools in the moment. That’s why we sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy, clinical child psychologist and parenting coach, to translate “growth mindset” from a classroom buzzword into practi...

Perfectionism can look like a gold star from the outside and feel like a trap on the inside. When a child gets a 95 and only sees the five points they missed, avoids raising their hand for fear of being wrong, or procrastinates because they can’t guarantee success, we’re not looking at “high standards” anymore. We’re looking at stress, shame, and a belief that being good enough requires being flaw...

A lot of people think suicide prevention starts when someone is already in crisis. We see it differently: prevention starts in ordinary moments when we notice a shift, ask one more question, and help a young person feel like they belong. As September marks Suicide Prevention Month, we’re opening up a conversation many parents, caregivers, and educators avoid, not because we don’t care, but because...

Back-to-school can feel like someone hit fast-forward on life: new teachers, new social dynamics, higher expectations, and a sudden return to structure after the looseness of summer. We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy, a clinical child psychologist, to get specific about what back-to-school stress looks like in real homes and why it shows up even when kids are “fine.” We talk about the two common...

Money can be one of the fastest ways to spike stress in a household, and it is also one of the most practical ways to build resilience. We sit down with Shaina Golembeski from Kish Bank to talk about financial wellness in plain language, without shame, and with real tools you can use right away. If the word “budget” makes your stomach drop, you are not alone, and you are not broken.  We dig into w...

Summer is supposed to feel light, but a lot of families quietly struggle once the school day disappears. When the structure drops, motivation can dip, anxiety can rise, and everyone ends up feeling a little off. We talk honestly about why that happens and how a few predictable moments can make the whole day feel calmer without turning summer into boot camp. I’m joined by Dr. Peter Montminy, a clin...

The hardest parts of the day are often the “in-between” moments: turning off a screen, getting out the door, starting homework, and powering down for bedtime. When those transitions go poorly, it can feel like the whole day is held hostage by routines, arguments, and tantrums. We wanted a grounded, practical roadmap for caregivers and educators, so we sat down with Dr. Peter Montminy of A Mindful...

Change can feel like getting knocked off your footing, even when it’s a “good” change. We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy of A Mindful Village to talk through the real emotional whiplash of big life transitions: moving, starting a new school, welcoming a new baby, adoption, remarriage and stepfamilies, divorce, and losses like the death of a loved one or pet. If you’ve ever watched a child swing...

If you’ve ever thought, “My child can focus for hours on a favorite activity, so it can’t be ADHD,” this conversation will change how you see attention, effort, and motivation. We dig into what ADHD actually is: a neurodevelopmental executive function difference that affects sustained attention, impulse control, planning, and self-monitoring. And we get specific about how it can look different in...

Depression gets talked about like it’s just sadness, but the reality is messier and more important. Sometimes it shows up as irritability, numbness, exhaustion, lost motivation, or a teen who can’t seem to care about anything they used to love. We wanted a clearer map, so we sat down with our resident expert, Dr. Peter Montminy, to break down what depression is, what it isn’t, and how to tell when...

A mean message is bad enough. A mean message that can be screenshotted, shared, and repeated all night long is something else entirely. Cyberbullying doesn’t stop at the school doors, and for many kids it shows up in the one place that should feel safest: alone in their bedroom with a phone.  We sit down with our resident expert, Dr. Peter Montminy of A Mindful Village, to break down what cyberbul...

Pornography is no longer something children and teens only find on “adult sites.” It can surface through social media, messaging threads, gaming platforms, and even music streaming, which leaves many parents and caregivers feeling outmatched and unsure of what to say first. We walk through pornography and adolescence with our resident expert, Dr. Peter Montminy of A Mindful Village, focusing on wh...

A single tap can turn a private moment into a permanent record, and most teens are not thinking about that when they hit send. We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy from A Mindful Village to talk honestly about teen sexting, why it shows up earlier than many adults expect, and how adolescent brain development makes impulsivity and reward seeking feel stronger than long term thinking. We get specific...

Screens are woven into childhood now, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept constant fights, late-night scrolling, or kids who can’t disengage. We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy to unpack what’s really happening inside the developing brain and why technology can feel so irresistible for kids, teens, and adults alike. We talk about brain development into the mid-20s, how neuroplasticity strengt...

Anxiety can feel like something to get rid of, but what if it’s actually your body trying to help? We sit down with Dr. Peter Montminy from A Mindful Village to unpack anxiety as a normal human emotion and a built-in alarm system. We sit down to talk about why anxiety shows up as anticipatory fear, and how that surge of adrenaline can be either useful or overwhelming depending on how we respond. W...

Fairness sounds simple until you’re staring down a sibling standoff or a classroom calling “unfair!” We dive into what fairness really means—equal care, tailored supports—and how this shift from sameness to equity transforms homes and schools. With clinical child psychologist and parenting coach Dr. Peter Montminy, we explore the brain science behind why unfair hits so hard, and we share tools tha...

What if the problem isn’t the child, but the match between their brain and the demands around them? We dive into neurodiversity with clinical child psychologist and parenting coach Dr. Peter Montminy to reframe “difference” as natural human variation and offer practical ways to help kids thrive at school and at home. From attention, emotion, and sensory processing to learning preferences and commu...

Growth doesn’t follow a script, and neither should we. As kids move from the magic years to the driver’s seat, their brains, emotions, and needs change fast—and that’s where developmental parenting becomes a game-changer. We sit down with clinical child psychologist and parenting coach Dr. Peter Montminy to map out how love, limits, and letting go shift from early childhood through adolescence, an...

Teen emotions can feel like tidal waves—fast, loud, and all-consuming—while adult logic stands on the shore holding a towel. We dig into why that happens and how to turn everyday friction into growth by understanding the science of adolescent brain development. With clinical child psychologist Dr. Peter Montminy, we unpack the “under construction” brain: a limbic system fueled by reward and social...

What if the fastest way to help kids bounce back isn’t more advice, but more care they can feel? We sat down with clinical child psychologist Dr. Peter Montminy to unpack compassion as a teachable skill—empathy plus the intention to help—and how it strengthens resilience at home and in the classroom. From the first minutes, we connect the science to the everyday: mirror neurons tuning into others’...

Stress doesn’t ask for permission; it shows up in the car line, at the red light, during homework, and right before bedtime. We explore a kinder, more workable way to meet it: short, judgment-free practices that reset the nervous system and train attention to come back home. With child psychologist Dr. Peter Montminy, we turn mindfulness from an abstract ideal into a set of repeatable reps you can...

Stress isn’t just a feeling, it’s rewiring how kids pay attention, regulate emotions, and make choices. We sit down with clinical child psychologist and parenting coach Dr. Peter Montminy to break down a simple, powerful framework that helps families flip the script from reactivity to reflection. Instead of white-knuckling through meltdowns or nagging through homework, we teach a shared language—p...