“One of my happy thoughts was having peace and quiet in the house today to work,” I said. “Oh yeah. Mom, could you give me peace and quiet while I am going to sleep? I always hear you doing the dishes in the kitchen and it keeps me up,” said E in earnest. “I’ll try,” …
– a formal discussion between people who are trying to reach an agreement. 1 About negotiation: Children begin to develop some of the foundational skills for effective negotiation early. Typically, they are able to articulate a compelling, heart-felt argument as to why they should be the one to receive one more cookie. They are practicing …
Category: About, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Active listening, Children, Empathy, Motivation, Negotiation, Paraphrase, perspective, Perspective taking, Problem solving, Robert Selman's Stages of Perspective Taking, Social perspective taking, thoughts and feelings, Win-win negotiation, Win-win solution
Every spring is the only spring – a perpetual astonishment. – Ellis Peters The birds chirp outside of my window building nests and resting on the newly budded branches surrounding my office. As spring reveals new growth, we watch our children grow and develop, their transformations at times readily apparent and rapid. At a family …
Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself. – Elie Weisel Our busy lives require that we move quickly from one activity to the next with our children. Get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, put on coat, grab the backpack, go to school, go through …
Category: Modeling Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Anger, Children, Cooperation, Family, Kind and firm, Logical consequences, Parent, Preventing power struggles, Reframing, Routines, Self discipline, Thinking about thinking
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little Cheep, cheep, cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more. – From the musical, Music Man (1957) It is easy to forget that the music of our speech, our tone of voice, communicates just as much as the actual content of what is …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Calm environment, Children, Dealing with misbehaviors, Emotion, Family, Home, John Gottman, Nonverbal communication, Paraphrasing, Parent, Reinforcing positive behaviors, Self awareness, Tone of voice
“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha No child enters their preschool or even early elementary school years having perfected the art of sharing. As parents, we are eternally frustrated by the “this is …
