Amy and Jack are arguing over how to help their young child sleep through the night. Amy thinks that just need to let her cry it out, Jack thinks they should go in and help her calm down. But Amy and Jack could also have a similar argument about money — how to manage their income so they don’t keep adding to their credit card — or what plants would grow best in their garden, or even sexual problems where one is satisfied and the other is not. [Read more…] about Butting Heads: How to Stop Power Struggles
Parenting
Why and How to Teach Your Kids Mindfulness
Last year, my daughter started learning mindfulness in her third-grade class at school. The students would sit in a circle, close their eyes, and quietly take notice of their own thoughts and what was happening around them. Each session, led by Danielle Mahoney, the mindfulness educator and literacy coach at P.S. 212Q in Jackson Heights, Queens, had a different lesson: mindful seeing, mindful hearing, mindful breathing, or heartfulness (or sending kind thoughts to others). The idea was that learning these techniques would help the young students focus better in school and be less stressed out. [Read more…] about Why and How to Teach Your Kids Mindfulness
Building Resiliency in Children by Letting them Fail
It seems counter-intuitive as a parent that one of the best things you can do is to let your child fail. Emotionally it can be pretty rough on everyone, but opportunities to build resiliency are a major key to success and happiness in the long run, according to brain research.
Resilience is a universal capacity which allows a person, group or community to prevent, minimize or overcome the damaging effects of adversity. [Read more…] about Building Resiliency in Children by Letting them Fail