Yesterday, I defined coping skills. Today, I'm listing some on how to help your child improve their coping skills. * First, talk to your child about emotions. They need to be able to recognize their own emotions (as well as the emotions of others) in order to cope with them!
A coping skill is any trick, technique, or habit that you use to "deal with" something. For example, when you feel anxious, you might say to yourself: "I'm okay, I can handle this, it's going to be okay." That's called "positive self-talk.
Praise is another one of the classic parenting techniques that is now subject to some controversy. I don't mind tipping my hand here--I'm firmly in the pro-praise camp. But, like so many other areas of parenting, the devil's in the details, so to speak... The way that praise is given makes a huge difference.
"When I Feel Sad," by Cornelia Maude Spelman, is a great book that I frequently recommend to parents. It's a book for children, ages 2-9 or so... There are only a few words on each page, and the book starts with descriptions of times that kids feel sad: "Sometimes I feel sad. I feel sad when someone won't let me play."
I had the pleasure this week of being interviewed by Elizabeth Dannheim of KEYE news. She was filming a story inspired by two women with an unlikely friendship. Unlikely, because one of them is the "mom" and the other is [...]
You've probably heard that astronauts practice their work underwater, right? I remember learning that as a child and thinking it was "so cool," because I could then pretend that I was an astronaut the next time I went swimming. [...]
A dad I know asked me about play therapy the other day. Does it really work? How does it work? How can play be therapy? "Oh," I said, "Good Question!" ;^) Children aren't cognitively or verbally able to process [...]
Teaching emotional intelligence is an enormously important thing for a parent to do. But how? For younger kids, it's all about giving them the language to conceptualize and communicate about their experiences. This is worth repeating: kids must acquire [...]
It can be such a relief to know that other people are struggling with the same challenges that you are. It can also be comforting, in a way, to find out that there are problems out there that you don't [...]
Earlier this week I had an initial appointment with a physical therapist. Towards the end of our visit, he gave me some instructions for things to do at home. I sortof understood, but wanted clarification, so I asked a question. This is where things went downhill.
I believe family is the foundation of who we are as people and as a culture, and helping improve family lives is my calling and my passion. My top priority is helping you manage behavior more effectively while preserving your parent-child relationship, either with one-on-one coaching or through my online offerings.
