With ever increasing numbers of homeless in our cities, it is not surprising that young children are asking questions. Whether it is someone in the street asking each car for money, someone pushing a cart overflowing with possessions, or a person forlornly propped up against a building, children notice anything that is different (as do we all, frankly). They work hard to understand and make sense of the world they encounter. As they grow and mature, more of the world comes into focus and is … [Read more...] about How to Talk About Homelessness
Sensitive Topics
Putting the Happy Back in Birthday
"Amanda is 2!" read the banner draped over the entrance to our neighborhood park. And that was just the beginning. A cooking area complete with printed aprons (“Amanda’s 2nd Birthday”) and chef's hats for each child, a craft area with three different creation stations, a pony ride with three steeds awaiting , a bounce house, a child's snack area, and an adult area replete with wine choices and gourmet treats served by men in black. Really? This was not a birthday party; this was a birthday … [Read more...] about Putting the Happy Back in Birthday
All Kinds of Feelings: A Child’s Emotional Literacy
In the video, Emotional Baby is Moved to Tears by Mom’s Singing, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/29/emotional-baby-moved-to-tears-by-moms-singing_n_4173272.html?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents, we witness the power of emotion in even the youngest of babies. At only 10 months old, the baby’s deep feelings spill over in the form of tears when he hears his mother’s beautiful singing. Learning about emotions like these is a long process and a big part of … [Read more...] about All Kinds of Feelings: A Child’s Emotional Literacy
“I Don’t Want To Go To School!”
Now that the school year has begun, it won’t be long before one morning you’ll awaken to the declaration, “I don’t want to go to school.” It’s a cry, actually more of a plea, which every parent is likely to face at least once, if not ten times, each school year. It’s never music to your ears. Not wanting to go to school for the younger child or proclaiming “I’m not going to school” for the older ones, can challenge even the most savvy parent. How easy life would be if there were a one size … [Read more...] about “I Don’t Want To Go To School!”
Being Neighborly
Keeping your child safe, (also the name of a seminar I offer), is every parent’s top priority. And each time the internet explodes with news of another abuse to a child, parents are shaken to the core. Fear reverberates across the county, and we ask, “How did that happen?” and “What could have been done to prevent such a nightmare?” Such is the case with the heart-stopping news of Amanda Berry’s, Gina de Jesus’ and Michelle Knight’s abduction and final escape from the living hell of Ariel … [Read more...] about Being Neighborly
Circle the Wagons. How children learn to express empathy.
Current research on the topic of empathy in children points to likelihood that infants as young as 6 months have the ability to demonstrate empathy. Whether or how empathy develops as the child grows is a whole different story. Here we go again, nature vs nurture. A recent experience points to an answer. Shockingly, I recently stared cancer in the face. Even I, the healthiest person I know, did not escape the reach of the Big C. A totally successful surgery was followed by a less successful … [Read more...] about Circle the Wagons. How children learn to express empathy.