It’s flu shot day. I have a feeling that today will go smoothly. But two years ago, it didn’t. And I notice a sense of dread creep up on me like a zombie in a haunted mansion. A few years back, E asked about whether shots would be involved with his upcoming doctor’s appointment well …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: anxiety and anger, Empathy, Helping kids deal with fears, Kids, kids and anxiety, kids facing fears, kids' feelings, parenting and fears, parents and anxiety, Patience, Self control, Self-management
What is it… why you want it… and how to get it! “I had no idea it was so late!” my ten-year-old exclaimed lifting his head up after a few hours of finely-crafting origami Star Wars figures with his cousin, Grandma and myself who were equally entranced in our crafting projects. Clearly, we were experiencing …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: children and flow, children and focus, Creative Problem Solving, Creativity, Executive function, family flow, Focused attention, Mindfulness, play and flow, Self control, sense of flow
What is it… why you want it… and how to get it! “I had no idea it was so late!” my ten-year-old exclaimed lifting his head up after a few hours of finely-crafting origami Star Wars figures with his cousin, Grandma and myself who were equally entranced in our crafting projects on spring break. Clearly, …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: children success, executive funtion, family flow, family mindfulness, flow, flow in families, focuses attention, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Mindfulness, Self control, Self-management, Self-regulation
How Can You Help Your Five-Year-Old during the Major Adjustment to All-Day Kindergarten? “We have to go back every day?!” exclaims five-year-old Simon incredulously in the first week of kindergarten. I was reminded of when the nurse told me “only 20 more minutes of pushing and the baby should be out,” during drugless labor. It …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: adjusting to kindergarten, emotional kindergarteners, emotional meltdowns, Empathy, five-year-olds, kindergarten exhaustion, parent patience, parents dealing with kindergarten, Self control, Self-management, separation anxiety in kindergarten, transition to kindergarten, young children and hyperactivity, young children and self-control
Whether you are concerned about preparing your children for school readiness, academic achievement, or success later in life, the learned skill of self-control will play a central role. Check out my latest article on specific, simple ways parents can promote self-control at various ages and stages. Here’s how it begins… One More Cupcake?…Promoting Self-Control through …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: #EducationNation, @ParentToolkit, academic performance, achieving goals, Healthy relationships, Kids and Self-control, NBC Parent Toolkit, Parenting, Parents and Self-control, Promoting self-control through the ages, school performance, school readiness, SEL, Self control
Learn the following simple steps of the traffic light model and practice problem-solving with your kids as a game this summer. And try out the rap that goes with it! Then, gently remind and use it each time siblings or friends get into a conflict. It can empower kids with the skills to work through …
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Category: Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Building communication skills, Collaborative for Academic, Collaborative problem solving, Consequential thinking, Empathy, Evaluating actions, Goal setting, Kids communication, Kids conflict management, Perspective taking, Problem solving, Roger Weissberg, Self control, Self=awareness, Social and Emotional Learning, Stress management, Summer problem-solving game, Traffic light problem-solving model
It just started happening seemingly out of the blue. “Why can’t I watch PG-13 rated movies? I know kids in my class who do.” “Why do I always have to go upstairs for bed at 7:00? The neighbors all get to stay up later.” And then what seems like minutes later, I hear “Why do …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Asking questions of parents, Caring, Child development, Compassion, complex thinking, equality, ethics, Fairness, justice, kids questioning, Moral development, Patience, questioning authority, questioning parents, Reflection, Responsible decision-making, Rules, Self control, Social rules, stages of moral development
If you are concerned about your children making a living in the world on their own someday, you are not alone. And because financial acumen is not typically a rigorous part of school curricula, we know, as parents, it’s up to us to help our children. It’s likely you’ve considered teaching your child about money …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: caring Socratic method with kids, Empathy, Empathy and money, Ethics and money, Fairness, Family gratitude, Goal setting, Money and values, persistence, Reciprosity, Self control, Teaching kids about money and ethics and empathy, Teaching kids empathy, Teaching kids ethics, Values and priorities
“I call base!” my son would say at any place and any time in the days when he was first introduced to the game of tag. If he wanted to end the tickling or stop the chasing, he would claim a piece of furniture, staircase banister or corner of the room as his safe haven. …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Anger, Emotional safety, Emotions, Flight response, frustration, home base, kids and upset, safe base, Security, Self control, Self-regulation, siblings, Teaching kids self-control
“Where are your gloves? Uuuuhhhrrrr!” I growled this morning. Hats, gloves, boots, shoes and socks have been strewn everywhere through our tiny hallway and into our kitchen from our side door – so much so that I can’t walk without stepping on some article of clothing. I thought we were doing okay in the mornings. …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Adjusting to winter weather, Calm, checklists, Highly responsible child, Kids and Self-control, Morning anxiety, Morning routine, Morning stress, Parents and Self-control, Patience, Positive Family Environment, Self control, The Checklist Manifesto
