The coming of Valentine’s Day seems an ideal time to write about one of the greatest, most enduring loves. No, I am not writing about romantic love. This is about our love for our children and how we express it. There are moments in our lives when we feel like bursting with love for our …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: Clean Language, Expressing love to our children, learning about child development, love language for parents, love language with kids, parenting with love, parents and child development, parents and patience, Responsible decision-making, Self awareness, Showing children love, Social awareness, Unconditional love
”Mom, everything seems to speed up around me, get louder in my head, and I can’t take my test. I feel scared.” This is how my ten-year-old son described his anxiety during test taking time. But though I know he has felt those feelings in the past, this is the first time he’s been able …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: Calm, Calming down, Coping strategies, dealing with stress, Deep breathing, kids and anxiety, Kids and stress, kids and test-taking strategies, Modeling, parents as models, physical symptoms of anxiety, physical symptoms of stress, Self awareness, Self-management, teachers as models, teaching kids to deal with stress, Testing anxiety, Testing stress
For Promoting Social and Emotional Skills in the Home or Classroom Mandy is having a tough day because each friend or relative she meets can’t play. But the narrator of this story asks good questions of Mandy to learn more. It turns out her friend got in trouble and wasn’t allowed to play. Another friend …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: "The Grit Up Series", Abbie Kelley, Care to repair, Empathy, negative self-talk, Relationship skills, Responsible decision-making, Self awareness, Self-management, Social and Emotional Learning, Social and emotional skill building, Social awareness
Too often we give children answers to remember rather than problems to solve. – Roger Lewin Coaching can be a powerful way to help our children become more self-aware, understanding their thoughts and feelings and how they impact their behavior choices. It can also give them valuable practice in problem-solving and responsible decision making. Similar …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: "Coaching Skills; A Handbook", Active listening, coaching as parenting tool, Coaching with kids, Confidence, Confident Kids, Confident Parents, leadership coaching, Parent coaching, parents facilitating problem-solving, Problem solving, Responsible decision-making, Self awareness, Self-management, Sibling conflicts
As you explore the new content on the NBC Parent Toolkit, check out this one in the new Life After High School section on a young adult’s changing identity. On the first break when your college student or new workforce member returns home, you may witness a strikingly different person than the son or daughter you …
Check out this exceptional example of the use of social and emotional learning in high school from Edutopia (the George Lucas Educational Foundation). Though often early childhood and elementary school ages and stages are times we tend to focus on social and emotional learning, middle school, high school, and college-age students also require skill …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: Edutopia, family connection, family mindfulness, High school social and emotional learning, mindfulness and teens, parenting high school students, parenting teenagers, Relationship skills, Responsible decision-making, Self awareness, Self-management, Social and Emotional Learning, Social awareness
“I just can’t go to sleep!” E said summoning me well after our nightly bedtime ritual had taken place. When I guided him back to bed, he layed down and flopped his feet up in the air with his body in a constant wiggle. Since I observed his physical restlessness first, I gently guided him …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Bedtime, bedtime with kids, calming kids at bedtime, Gratefulness, Gratitude, Kids, kids getting to sleep, kids going to sleep, kids' anxieties, kids' worries, Mindfulness, Parents, reflective thinking, relaxation at bedtime, restless mind, Self awareness, self-soothing
By Guest Writer, Ann Douglas Imagine how tough it must be to be a kid, trying to crack the code that is human emotion. Just when you think you’ve got everything all figured out, someone tosses you a curveball by reacting in a puzzling or unexpected way. Your mom is angry rather than happy about …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: "Parenting through the Storm", Ann Douglas, Emotional awareness, Kids and emotions, Learning about emotions, learning about feelings, Parents helping kids with emotions, Relationship skills, Self awareness, surprising facts about emotions
How do you make the changes you desire? “I know what I don’t want to do, but I’m not sure what I can do instead.” said a parent as we discussed her challenges. Often it is easier to look back on the experiences from our childhood and know exactly what we don’t want to repeat. …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills Tags: behavioral patterns, changing parenting, changing parenting patterns, Daniel Siegel, Gretchen Rubin, kid challenges, parenting change, parents' emotions, Self awareness, support for change
“Wouldn’t it be awesome if every toy in the world were one dollar?” exclaimed my son, E yesterday with great enthusiasm. “Then,” he went on, “I could buy everything on my wish list with the money in my piggy bank!” “Hmmm. Let’s think about that.” was my response. “What if?” I eagerly await those opportunities …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Beliefs about money, Culture, Emotions and money, Empathy, Families and money, Family conflicts, Family stress, Happiness, Healthy relationship with money, Inner resources, money, Parenting, Responsible decision-making, Self awareness, Social awareness, Teaching kids about money, Well-being
