Internationally recognized author & educator for professionals, parents, and kids
Being a Mom
Assertive Anger Expression for Kids: Arguing vs. Disagreeing
014 years
Do your children bicker? Mine sure do. In fact, asking if they bicker is like asking if they breathe; it comes so naturally to them that some days it seems like a life-sustaining function. I try to remind myself that sibling rivalry, while not actually critical to survival, is at least a great teacher for kids, as they practice life skills like assertiveness, negotiation, and forgiveness.
Though I put great effort into not being a constant family mediator, one of the most effective lessons I was ever able to pass on mid-conflict was teaching my daughters the difference between disagreeing and arguing.
For the full text of this article, please visit:
http://www.parentsareimportant.com/2011/06/assertive-anger-expression-for-kids.html
For more information on skills and strategies to help children express anger in assertive, relationship-enhancing ways, please check out my latest book, to be released this July: How to Be Angry: An Assertive Anger Expression Group Guide for Kids and Teens
3 Lessons on Kindness
34214 years
by signewhitson
in Being a Mom
Check out this link for a post I wrote about my Mom, one of the best role models of kindness I’ve ever known:
I Was So Mad! Teaching Assertive Anger Expression to Kids
72314 years
From the cries of infancy, to the tantrums of toddlerhood, and hopefully the self-control of school-age years, developing the delicate art of anger expression is a process for children. Some little ones seem to be born with a cool head while others show their hot-tempers right from birth. No matter what your child’s temperament, all people have choices when it comes to handling angry feelings. Parents play the crucial role in helping their children make healthy choices when it comes to anger expression. Consider (more…)
Great Advice from Sesame Workshop About How to Handle Kids’ Questions About Scary News Stories
52514 years
Sesame Street will never do you wrong. Here is a great video clip from Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, VP of Research and Education at Sesame Workshop, with wise words about the importance of parents giving kids coping skills for handling scary news and events.
http://www-tc.pbs.org/video/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf
Watch the full episode. See more The Parent Show.
Thanks, Sarah, for sharing!
The Secret of Happy Kids
1014 years
One of the best things my mother ever taught me…and one of the things I try to pass on to my daughters everyday…
5 Ways to Parent a Perfectionist
59414 years
Some days, I wish I were more of a perfectionist. I see the splotch of paint on my bedroom ceiling and think, “Oh, I should have touched that up…nine years ago.” I notice the slightly askew picture frames on our family room wall and wish I had bothered to measure before I hammered the nails in to the wall. Then, I forget about it.
When I watch my seven-year old daughter agonize over handwriting homework and berate herself for missing one question on her
30-problem math test, I thank the gods of “good enough” that perfectionism was never my thing. And I ask those same
gods for advice on how to help my child overcome her need to be flawless.
If you, too, are the parent of a perfectionist, here are some tips that I have found to be most effective:
1. Play up personal strengths and play down competitions
In school and at home, my daughter loves to win. My husband insists that this is a great quality and I know that in many ways, her desire for excellence will serve her well. Yet I also know that too much of a good thing can be rough, especially for young kids who hold themselves to impossibly high standards. When my daughter seems singularly focused on being the ‘best” reader in
her class or getting the “highest” score in math, we try to re-focus her energies on achieving personal bests and celebrating