Hilorie Baer, MSW
Hilorie Baer, MSW, is a psychotherapist specializing in addiction.
Q:Our 16-year-old son has been acting strange lately. He stays in his room a lot, keeps to himself and seems very secretive. Could he be getting into drugs? Guest Expert Hilorie Baer, MSW, answers: Mood swings and changes in attitude and behavior are often seen in teenagers and may simply be signs of normal adolescent angst. However, if they are extreme or are affecting the child's functioning, they could be signs of drug abuse or some other serious problem and should not be ignored.
During my last pregnancy, I found one book, far and above all others, to be particularly helpful to myself and to my three-year-old while she waited for her baby sister to be born. The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown (author of the classic Goodnight Moon,) is about a little bunny who wants to run away. When he announces his intention to his mother, she says, "If you run away, I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.
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