Mindfulness for Kids (and Parents)

In this post, we explore practical, culturally-affirming ways to bring mindfulness into your family’s daily routine. Discover how belly breathing, compassion practice, and even bubble-blowing can help regulate emotions and build resilience. I’m sharing my favorite bilingual resources, from “Sitting Still Like a Frog” to Sesame Street videos, porque our healing journey should reflect the richness of our cultures. Let’s explore how this ancient wisdom, rooted in many of our ancestral traditions, can help us and our little ones navigate life’s challenges with more ease and joy.

Grieving on “Happy Mother’s Day”

Mother’s Day isn’t always about flowers and brunches. For many of us—especially in First Gen and immigrant families—it’s a day of complex emotions and unspoken grief. This post creates space for those mourning mothers lost, yearning for bonds never formed, or navigating the weight of cultural expectations. Whether you’re missing your mother, grieving a child, or healing from maternal wounds, your feelings are valid. We’ll explore culturally affirming ways to honor your grief, set boundaries with love, and practice self-compassion. Because healing isn’t about “getting over it”—it’s about finding meaning amidst the pain and discovering strength in our shared experiences. Let’s walk this journey together, honoring all forms of motherhood and loss.

When a Parent or Loved One Goes to Jail

beautiful sad girl at home

When a parent goes to jail, our little ones are left with big emotions and confusing questions. In this post, we’ll explore age-appropriate ways to explain incarceration, validate feelings, and maintain connection. We’ll discuss the power of children’s books like “The Night Dad Went to Jail” in normalizing emotions and starting difficult conversations. Most importantly, we’ll focus on nurturing self-compassion—for both caregivers and children—as we navigate this challenging terrain together. Because even in our darkest moments, there’s always room for healing and hope.

10 Important Parenting Tips to Help Children Comply

Parenting is both hard and rewarding at the same time. The hardest parts are when our children aren’t complying, we don’t know why and nothing we’ve tried works. In my last article, I identified different reasons children might not comply. As promised, I put together this list of the top 10 important parenting survival tips […]

Teaching Kids Empathy

Loving african american mother spending time with her daughter

On the heels of two mass shootings this weekend in the U.S., a slew of traumatizing immigration reform acts, and a lifetime of community violence in inner city neighborhoods, I’m left thinking, “where do we begin?” My friend and owner of Long Beach Littles reached out to me for information on how to teach kids […]

Coping with a Loved One’s Terminal Illness

Watching a loved one suffer though a chronic, declining or terminal illness can be painfully intolerable. This very article and topic can be super triggering for some, so know that you can read a little bit at time, or at a pace that feels digestible for you. The first thing I want to help validate […]

10 Tips for Navigating the Pre-School Blues

Navigating the pre-school blues is a hot ticket topic at home currently. My little one (LO) just started pre-school and it’s triggered so many emotions and catastrophic thoughts for everyone in my family. My LO has been crying at drop off every day. “It was gutting” is what I said to my husband when he asked […]

10 Reasons ‘This is Us’ is All of Us

*Major Spoiler Alert* This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.  If you’re like me, you love the emotional, romantic and tear-inducing NBC show This is Us. All my therapist friends, those who love a good cry and sad stories can’t get enough of this show. Every time my husband sees me […]

Your loved one is depressed. How to tell them about therapy

  You’re sitting with your BFF (best friend forever) as she’s depressed, in tears and describing her extremely painful situation(s). You feel so much for her and also feel frozen. You don’t know what to do or say to make her feel better. All you know is you want her pain to end and don’t know […]