Tag: Children

In Youth Connections Magazine… “Decisions, Decisions… How Can We Prepare Our Children to Make Responsible Choices?”

For the Youth Connections Magazine’s summer issue, we are discussing how you promote responsible decision-making skills in our children and teens. The article offers some guidance on children’s developing sense of what to base their choices on, how parents can support that development along with specific age/stage tips for promoting this essential life skill. Here’s …

Easing the Transition Back to School

I’m gonna hold onto this couch and never let go! – E. Miller, Age 6 It’s the morning after our summer vacation at the lake. E awoke and said he had had a nightmare. “My school became a haunted village. A ghost dragged me around the grounds. And all of my school friends were at …

“Made by Raffi”: A Story of a Kid Who’s Different

At some point, every child will experience the feeling of being different. From hobby interests to gender identity, some children will have a more intense experience of not being like the rest. And all children encounter others who are different. How will they view those contrasts? Will they be able to see the unique richness …

Sharing Picture Books to Make Meaning

The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms. – Muriel Rukeyser Rabbits and owls happen to be two of E’s favorite animals so when we read a story about a friendship between them, we were both eager for the tale. The good friends built their homes next door to one another but Owl couldn’t …

The Chance to Wait

I grew up with six brothers. That’s how I learned to dance – waiting for the bathroom. – Bob Hope “Are we there yet?” This is the common refrain from the backseat on the long road trip to Grammy’s house. We “moo” at the cows. We examine the red barns. We talk about the funny …

Results from NBC Parent Toolkit’s New Parent Survey

This week, NBC Education Nation’s Parent Toolkit released the results from a “State of Parenting” survey they conducted in partnership with Pearson and Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI). Eight hundred and three American primary caregivers, parents and guardians of children ages 3-18 were interviewed by phone in English and Spanish last Fall. The results …

Spring Growth

Teachers arise from somewhere within me that is beyond me, the way the dark soil that is not the root holds the root and feeds the flower. – Mark Nepo “How old do I have to be to be a grown up?” E has asked a twice over the past few weeks. Sometimes to small people …

Elements of a Confident Kid… Service Minded

– noticing others or environmental needs, feeling empathy and desiring a role in contributing to their or its well-being. About being service minded A service-minded person is both self and socially aware. She must know her own strengths and limitations. She sees what contributions she can make and how they relate to other’s unmet needs. …

Elements of a Confident Kid… Sincerity

– honesty of mind :  freedom from hypocrisy1 About Sincerity: Who “To be or not to be? That is the question.” Though Shakespeare questioned the choice of existence, the question of our authenticity may be just as important and fundamental. Psychologists have made numerous distinctions over the years attempting to define our sense of self. …

For Valentine’s Day – Unconditional Love and Attention

This fire that we call loving is too strong for human minds. But just right for human souls. – Aberjhani, Elemental: The Power of Illuminated Love In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d write about our love for our children and their need for attention. Of course, all children have a need for us …

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