Tag: Communication skills

Promoting Children’s Perspective-taking and Empathy through Halloween

The pirate, construction worker, fireman, train conductor, doctor, ghost and Dark Lord Vader have all made guest appearances in our house over the past weeks in hot anticipation of Halloween. Though fear may abound with kids worrying about spooky specters and parents worrying about nut allergies, cavities, and street safety, there is more to the Halloween …

Parents as Servant Leaders

“It is high time the ideal of success should be replaced by the ideal of service.” – Albert Einstein Most leaders acquire their power from the choice of their social group to elevate individuals to that level. However, parents, by the very nature of our roles, serve in a leadership position while we raise our …

On NBC’s Parent Toolkit – “The Most Important Relationship to Build This Year”

What is the most important relationship to build as the school year starts?   On NBC’s Parent Toolkit blog today, check out my article. Here’s how it begins… “Hi, Mrs. Miller!” I exclaimed as I bumped into my son’s beloved teacher from the past school year at a summer festival. “E was hoping we might …

Cultivating Compassion In Our Kids

How do we, as parents, help our kids experience and develop compassion? It’s a concern of mine as I look around me and notice my family’s eyes glued to screens and those activities encroaching on my child’s attention. And when he looks up, is he so busy with school work or Legos that he can only …

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 …

Say What?

When you really listen to another person from their point of view, and reflect back to them that understanding, it’s like giving them emotional oxygen. – Stephen Covey Most parents, particularly with young children, may feel like they are listening all day long. Because children are exploring the world around them, they may have many …

Parent-Teacher Conversations

          Productive collaborations between family and school, therefore, will demand that parents and teachers recognize the critical importance               of each other’s participation in the life of the child.  –          Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Teachers gain plenty of experience over time having difficult conversations about students with parents. However if you are parent, you may only experience …

The Comeback Kid

There is nothing as sweet as a comeback, when you are down and out, about to lose, and out of time. – Anne Lamott Rewarding but challenging, comebacks can be difficult to come by when you are in a conflict situation. The following comeback formula can be a powerful retort with great grandmas, in-laws, dads, …

Waiting Games

I grew up with six brothers. That’s how I learned to dance – waiting for the bathroom. –       Bob Hope Waiting can try the patience of the most even tempered adults. If you have to wait with children, it can be a downright painful or embarrassing experience as little ones grow bored quickly and can …

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