Every year, I hear from many families about the difficulties they and their children are having adjusting to going back to school. It’s quite common for students to feel apprehensive about the increased expectations in a new grade level, to worry about friends and fitting in, to be disappointed by the teacher they have or by the lack of close friends in their classrooms. We all want to see that our children and students are happy and confident, but these fears and disappointments are not something detrimental to their emotional health. Quite the opposite!
Kate Fierce
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Topics: Social-Emotional Development
Topics: Parenting
Children (and adults) often confuse what they want with what they need. This is increasingly true these days, as we live in a culture that sells us all of our hearts’ desires. Change your outlook with a new outfit! Become a new person in a new automobile! Be the coolest kid on the block with the latest video gaming system! Get through a tough day with “retail therapy” or loads of comfort food! These powerful messages contribute to a lack of gratitude for what we have, a desire for more than we need, and an inability to recognize our blessings.
If it is tempting for adults to be consumed by desire for what they do not have, think how much more tempting it is for children, who have not yet mastered self-control or delayed gratification! In The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, Dr. Wendy Mogel asserts that, “longing is a blessing, because children who get most of their desires satisfied right away don’t have a chance to appreciate what they’ve already got.”
Topics: Parenting
Topics: Parenting
It’s the news that no parent wants to hear. Your child has been engaging in bullying behavior. It is difficult for any parent to accept that their loving child is being less than kind to others. It’s important to remember at times like these that children who demonstrate bullying behavior are not terrible people with uncertain futures. Rather they are children, growing and learning, who will occasionally make bad choices and face unpleasant consequences. Your reaction to the situation will, to great degree, help determine whether or not this becomes a learning experience that prompts behavior change.
Topics: Social-Emotional Development