Tamara Malinoff, Psychoeducator

11/18/2025

Hi friends and followers, it’s been a minute!

I am passionate about mental health matters and put together the following to remind us of the importance of taking care of ourselves from a holistic perspective - physical, emotional, social, spiritual and environmental well-being.

Swipe through and if this resonates with you, please feel free to share❤️
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06/15/2025

Looking for some fun🤩movement and song 🎶for your little ones? Don’t miss out on this, Hannah is wonderful!😍Check it out: Loving Our Littles

Our Musical Littles will have 3 weeks of summer sessions! ☀️

Join me between June 23rd – July 11th at Fairview Park for a chance to dance, sing, and play outside with your little ones!

Register here: https://www.lovingourlittles.com/registration

05/28/2025

Love this!❤️

I will be the first to admit – whining is the key to making my eyes roll. And of course, if one child starts whining, there’s usually another on standby to keep the volume steady while the first one catches their breath. So. Incredibly. Helpful. 🙄

And no, it never happens during peaceful, quiet moments. Whining loves to show up when we’re already late walking out the door, or when I’ve answered the same question three times and the answer wasn’t liked—so the child tries to whine their way into a different outcome. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t work.

Homeschooling (and just having my kids around a lot) has taught me the value of checking my own emotions before I respond out of frustration.

Here’s my go-to: I take a deep breath. Sometimes two. Sometimes five. And when I feel my frustration rising, I’ll literally say, “I need to calm down a bit before I can respond to you.”

Do I do this perfectly? Nope. Not even close. But that gives me the chance to apologize and show my kids what it looks like to take ownership when I mess up—especially when I respond out of frustration.

10/29/2024

Children need our attention and often lack the necessary skills to ask 🗣

Some need more ❤️ than others and may ask for it in the most unloving ways.

What is emotional regulation? It is the ability to control how and when emotions are expressed.

Big feelings are difficult for young children to navigate, 😡🥺😭so it is our job as parents to model and teach because they are still learning 🧠.

Young children do not have the ability as adults to self-regulate. This is a lifelong process with rapid development through early childhood. How many of us can lose our cool? 🤔

Children need ongoing support with social and emotional learning🤗.

This happens in their every day routines at home, school and any other social interactions.

It is easy to love someone when they are loveable; let’s choose to see the best in the ones who need it the most❤️

07/12/2024

Hi! My name is Tamara Malinoff, I am a psychoeducator (licenced mental health counselor) and certified Child Behavior Specialist in Montreal, Canada. Working at a local hospital and in private practice, I am passionate about helping my clients thrive, to encourage raising emotionally healthy children and teens, while supporting their parents is at the core of my practice.

Someone once said to me: “What’s in a diagnosis?”, words that I held on to over the years and use in my practice when working with families. We do not need a diagnosis to learn new tools and strategies. A diagnosis helps us to understand and meet them where they are at; however, it does not define the person, they are the same wonderful unique, special individual before, during, and after the assessment.

This fall, I am so excited to be part of the faculty for the Teen Behavior Certification Program (TBCP), sharing all about “What’s in a diagnosis?”: an overview of neurodivergent teenagers, helping teens and families through the “storm”, ASD and the transgender connection, how to support parents whose teen is in therapy and more.

Tamara Malinoff, Psychoeducator

07/05/2024

Comparing ourselves to others can often rob us of our joy.
Likewise, comparing our children to siblings or peers, can create doubt, worry and even shame in a child’s abilities.
Each child will find their own unique path throughout the lifespan, with their own special qualities.
Hold tight to your joy, in their timing, they will thrive!❤️

06/21/2024

This program was the best decision to further enhance my practice. If you work with children, teens, families, check it out. It’s truly one of a kind ❤️

06/19/2024

As the school year comes to an end, many are looking forward to their favorite familiar places like summer camps (day or sleepaway), and family vacations. While it is an exciting time, it is also a time of transition. Transitions can be challenging for both children and parents.

Some parents may ease into the relaxed routine of not having to prepare lunches and rush out in the morning, or finally booking that vacation abroad; while others might be stressed trying to find activities or camps to provide a balanced summer of fun activities, they hope their children will enjoy. 🏕🏖🎢🏊🏻‍♀️🚴‍♂️

For some children, it is a welcomed break and for others, it can cause mixed emotions; increased stress, especially for children who are less adaptable to change. 😬

For tips to help children transition to summer vacation, click the link in o read more on the blog✍️: https://tamaramalinoff.com/child-development/helping-children-transition-to-summer-vacation/

Wishing all our children, families and educators a safe and wonderful summer! ❤️

04/02/2024

Today is Autism Awareness Day💙 and April is Autism awareness month💙, a cause particularly close to my heart💙

Autism is not a disease. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder that disrupts brain functioning, perception of the world, interests and sensory development compared to other so-called normal or “neurotypical” people.

Depending on the severity of the ASD, people with autism may have greater or lesser verbal, social, behavioral or sensory difficulties. There are as many forms of autism as there are people with autism.

𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀...

🧩Having difficulty using both verbal and non-verbal language to understand and communicate with others

🧩Not knowing how to read the emotions of others or picking up on social cues

🧩Becoming dysregulated by the slightest change, which is why consistency and routines creates a sense of security

🧩Being hypersensitive to sounds, smells and touch

𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁...

🚫Not being able to have emotions (autistic people feel emotions like everyone else, but have difficulty understanding or expressing them)

🚫Not feeling pain (when a person with autism is in pain, he or she cannot express it, which can be interpreted as insensitivity)

🚫Being gifted or a genius like Rain Man (only a minority of autistic people have extraordinary cognitive abilities, while 50% may have an intellectual disability)

“The world needs different kinds of minds to work together”💙

~ Dr. Temple Grandin

04/01/2024

𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝘼𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙡!🌷

They say laughter is the best medicine😂

Did you know we are not born with a sense of humor? It is a skill we need to develop.

Laughing together is a way to connect, and a good sense of humor can also help cope with challenges.

Having a good sense of humor helps kids emotionally and socially, plus, there are many more benefits.

Research has shown that people who laugh more are healthier, less likely to be depressed and may even have an increased resistance to illness.

Read more about developing children’s sense of humor.

https://tamaramalinoff.com/early-childhood/developing-childrens-sense-of-humor/
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02/29/2024

𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫! 🗣️👂👩‍👦‍👦❤️
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬.

Parents often use verbal communication to motivate their teens to behave a certain way and to cooperate. Developmentally, this is the age where parents, although still present to guide, are to be put on the back burner as peers are the primary source of influence and preference.

A recent study published in the Journal Developmental Psychology* looked at two common parenting styles when speaking to their teens: 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏 (controlling) and 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 (autonomous-supportive). The purpose was to find which one is more effective at motivating teens to follow through and successfully complete tasks they were asked to do.

Read more… https://tamaramalinoff.com/parenting/listen-to-your-mother-teens-response-to-verbal-communication/

02/09/2024

In the first six years of life, the development of brain maturity is largely about working through self-control, emotional control, and sifting through immediate or delayed gratification. So, we can now imagine how children can sometimes seem all over the place and that they tend to fly by the seat of their emotional pants. This is why a child can easily go from a calm state to out of control and crying.

As adults, we are guiding and role modeling so how we communicate with our children is critical. Children are very literal thinkers at this age and need concrete language.

Sometimes it may seem hard for parents to know what to say to a child to invite their cooperation. One way is to show our appreciation to each one for their individual qualities and that this family just would not be the same without them. When we use descriptive language to point out our observations rather than using words like “nice” which can be subjective. So, rather than general statements like “Great job!”, say: “Yay! You put your jacket on and zipped it up all by yourself!”. This demonstrates to a child that they are seen, and we are letting them know specifically what it is that was noticed.

We want to celebrate each child for the beauty they bring to the family, to their classroom, community, along with the joy and uniqueness they bring to the world. Our role as parents, grandparents, educators, and caregivers during their growing years is to point out the positive effect a child has by pointing out these qualities and make room for a child to practice who they are from that positive perspective.
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