On the importance of parent SEL.

The great challenge for parents is how to manage your own emotions. Parenting is so deeply personal. The very nature of child development will raise a parent’s own volcano of emotions. For instance, toddlers go through a stage when they are hitting, but knowing that doesn’t always help a parent who remembers being hit as a child and wants to nurse his or her own wounds. Parents need to unpack what they’re feeling. I tell them, “You’re going to get emotional. Let’s plan for it so you’re ready.” Our Caregivers Guide (upcoming from CASEL) has an Emotional Safety Plan. It might mean saying, “Mommy needs five minutes.” Then close your eyes, calm down, breathe, reflect and come up with a plan to re-enter the situation.

We all plan for fires, even though only one in four of us ever experiences them. But we don’t plan for emotional fires even if every single parent has them.