Create Moments of Playful Connection
I thought about making a list: "Ten ways to create moments of playful connection with your children." "Playfully connect with your child to fortify their emotional regulation during COVID-19.” “Five ways children are reaching out to us to meet their needs without...
Learning from Home/Parenting During a Crisis
I am not homeschooling my children. I am schooling them from home. Not only that, but I am also getting my children through the first crisis in their lives, a global crisis. I am a mother first. My children are human beings first. I am balancing getting them through...
Talking to Children about Feelings amid Coronavirus
Follow a mother and her 6-year-old son as they explore their emotions amid the coronavirus outbreak. This is a fictional story based on my experiences with my son. He usually explores his feelings at night after I read to him. Lately, he has been exploring feelings of...
In Episode 3, Dr. Emily Keller discusses the importance of allowing children to have influence over parents.
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In this episode, Dr. Keller describes the four basic feelings and how to identify them.
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Wonder in the Everyday Moment
Yesterday, Facebook sent me a "memory" that reminded me of the wonder in the everyday moment. It went like this: Me to my son: Make a wish (as he was about to blow a dandelion). My son: I wish with all my might that I may blow all the seeds off this dandelion and...
Benefits of Outdoor Play
Some of my favorite childhood memories were formed outdoors. Whether playing on my own or with a group of kids. Often times, my dad and I would go on nature walks. Sometimes we skipped rocks or set paper boats to sail, or simply raced sticks in the current. At the...
Follow the Wonder
My husband and I took our then-only son to the North Carolina zoo for the first time when he was two years old. We bought an annual family pass and an hour and a half later, we were glad we did! We decided to let him follow the wonder and let him explore as...
Let Kids Deal With Disappointment
It can be hard on parents and caretakers to be with children as they feel and deal with disappointment and other difficult emotions. Their feelings stir up our difficult emotions. We may want to alleviate their negative feelings or ours by rescuing them rather than...
Parenting: Teachable Moments from Tantrums
Parenting is hard: Even tantrums offer teachable moments for toddlers ... when we keep our cool My two-year-old son just finished what felt like an hour-long tantrum right before falling asleep for the night. I'm not sure exactly how long it lasted. I prefer not to...
Sharing Feelings with Children: An Example
Sharing feelings with children invites them to share feelings with parents: An example There's power in story-telling. Societies with a lot of stories about how life goes have less anti-social behavior among their members. I hear a lot of stories about parenting,...
How to Invite Your Children to Share Feelings with You
To encourage your child to share feelings with you, share yours Talking about feelings with your child sounds easy to many, but it's not easy for everyone. After all, many of us had parents who didn't discuss them, reacted strongly to them, acted them out, denied...