Practice the “Body Check Five” to Manage Back-to-School Fears If you are a parent, educator, or a child old enough to anticipate the coming school year, there’s no doubt you are holding considerable tension. Speaking with educational leaders across the state of Ohio this past week, one message was consistent and crystal clear: we don’t …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: Back to School anxiety, covid19 and back to school, covid19 and schools, Kids and stress, mental health and back to school, parenting and back to school, safety and back to school, self-awareness, Self-management, Self-regulation, self-soothing
Parents hope to raise confident, independent, and resilient kids. They can work toward that hope each day by building the skill of self-management. What Is It? The skill of self-management (a.k.a. self-control, impulse control, or emotional regulation) is the ability to control impulses and express emotion in socially appropriate ways that do no harm to …
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What is it… why you want it… and how to get it! “I had no idea it was so late!” my ten-year-old exclaimed lifting his head up after a few hours of finely-crafting origami Star Wars figures with his cousin, Grandma and myself who were equally entranced in our crafting projects on spring break. Clearly, …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: children success, executive funtion, family flow, family mindfulness, flow, flow in families, focuses attention, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Mindfulness, Self control, Self-management, Self-regulation
THE GHOST OF A FLOWER “You’re what?” asked the common or garden spook Of a stranger at midnight’s hour. And the shade replied with a graceful glide, “Why, I’m the ghost of a flower.” “The ghost of a flower?” said the old-time spook; “That’s a brand-new one on me; I never supposed a flower had …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: Ages and Stages, Cognitive flexibility, Empathy, Executive function, Halloween, Kids and Halloween, Parenting and Halloween, Perspective taking skills, perspective-taking development, Relational Frame Theory, school readiness, Self-regulation, Teaching kids empathy, Theory of Mind
It’s difficult to hear the phrase “Say something nice” without finishing the sentence, “or don’t say anything at all.” I caught myself muttering these words recently as I watched a scene unfold from the cover of my porch. Two kids, around 10 or 11 years old, were walking past on the sidewalk while my neighbor …
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Practicing Mindfulness in Family Life The sun is nervous as a kite that can’t quite keep its own string tight. Some days are fair, and some are raw. The timid earth decides to thaw. Shy budlets peep from twigs on trees, and robins join the chickadees. Pale crocuses poke through the ground like noses come …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Awareness, Breathing, Breathing to calm down, Discipline, Family mindfullness, Mindfullness, Mindfullness with kids, Presence, Self-management, Self-regulation, Spring Mindfulness
“I call base!” my son would say at any place and any time in the days when he was first introduced to the game of tag. If he wanted to end the tickling or stop the chasing, he would claim a piece of furniture, staircase banister or corner of the room as his safe haven. …
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Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Anger, Emotional safety, Emotions, Flight response, frustration, home base, kids and upset, safe base, Security, Self control, Self-regulation, siblings, Teaching kids self-control
coping to maintain a contest or combat usually on even terms or with success to deal with and attempt to overcome problems and difficulties About Coping Skills: Though all babies are born with a brain rigged for the flight or fight survival instinct, the interpretation of sensory input determining what is a real threat does …
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Category: Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Bravery, Calming down, Coping skills, Coping strategies, Dealing with emotions, Emotion coaching, Emotional honesty, Kids and anger, Kids and family, Kids and stress, Parents and Coping, Self control, Self-management, Self-regulation
Stress Less: Calming Strategies from Parent Toolkit on Vimeo. This video short from the NBC Parent Toolkit shows how simple it can be to incorporate calming strategies into your life and your children’s to benefit all in your family. Maurice Elias, Social and Emotional Learning Expert at Rutgers University and I had the chance …
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Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others. – Brene Brown Boundary lines define the playing field. They outline the perimeter and if you step outside, you are, at least temporarily, out of the game. Emotional boundaries operate in the same way. They are the …
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Category: Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Child development, Emotional boundaries, Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, Problem solving, Responsible decision-making, Rules, safety, Self awareness, Self-regulation, Social awareness