Learning How to Handle – and Grow from – Disappointments
Disappointment happens. It’s how life goes. But try telling that to a child. Actually, don’t. It’s dismissive. It says, “Your feelings don’t matter.” And when you’re a kid, those feelings can feel very big. End-of-the-worldish. Challenging. More often, we’re tempted...
Help Your Kids Make the Shift from Sedentary to Active
You’ve probably seen more than one of those social media posts that compares childhood in the 1970s to childhood today – listicles like this one. And this. Most seem to focus on the apparent lack of concern for safety – why kids of the 70s “should all be dead,” as the...
How Do You Manage Screen Time When Media Has Become “Just Another Environment”?
“Five…four…three…” …swipe, tap, tap, swipe, swipe, tap… “…two…one!” The countdown – that old parental standby to garner compliance – was no longer working with our granddaughter Anna, smitten with our iPad and the wonders it can produce. We had set a strict time limit...
How Political Rhetoric Affects Our Kids – and What We Can Do About It
A scene from the Republican debate in Detroit earlier this year: The debate quickly devolved into the shouting over each other that has marked many pointed exchanges. At one point, trying to get Mr. Trump to stop talking, Mr. Cruz repeated instructions: “Breathe....
Yoga Calm Flashback – Native American Mindfulness: Reciprocity
As we approach Earth Day 2016, we find our thoughts going back to this previous post on recognizing and affirming our connectedness with the natural world, which we’ve updated slightly for the occasion… Several years back, a writer for one of our local papers...
Coming to our Senses… – Mindfulness Practices in Education
Sensation perception – tapping into our immediate bodily awareness – is at the heart of all yoga and mindfulness practices. It's also a major research interest of Dr. Robert W. Roeser, a professor of psychology and human development at Portland State University. He's...
“Grit” Is Great – But Kids Need More
The good news: More educators than ever are understanding that “content knowledge” alone isn’t enough for student success. "Now, in addition to teaching students fractions and conjunctions, many educators are increasingly grappling with how to address social and...
Out on a Limb… Inspiring Environmental Stewardship
Two hundred feet up in a tree. The winds were blowing so hard, she felt she would surely meet her demise, but Julia Butterfly Hill finally relaxed her tight grip on the tree she had named Luna so that she could move with its swaying. She had lived in that tree for...
8 Solutions for Navigating Conflict, Setting Boundaries, & Maintaining Calm
When a child’s emotions get big, our own emotions can swell up, too. Our stress response kicks in, overriding our own “upstairs brain” – the logical, controlling part. When a child is upset, they rely on a parent or other caregiving adult to guide them through the...
4 Tools to Help Kids Manage Big Emotions
One afternoon in my counseling office, I was working with two boys. I told them if they played quietly while I spoke with their mother, they would each be able to choose something from the treasure box at the end of the session. They were terrific. So, as promised, I...
Lean on Me: Tips for Teaching Friendship Skills to Kids
Ask a kid what it takes to make a good friendship, and they can tell you: But that doesn’t necessarily mean they know how to make friends, how to translate their head knowledge into action. Though you see kids make friendships very quickly in their earliest years, by...
Learning Through Action: The Importance of Teaching Skills to Kids Struggling with ADHD (& Other Behavioral Disorders)
When I first began working as a school counselor, I sometimes got frustrated with children who didn’t seem to apply the social/emotional lessons I taught them. “Why don’t they get it?” I asked my colleague Anne Bagwell, a counselor and an amazing mentor. “I explain...