Finding Comfort in I Am Not Afraid
Bedtime fears are a common childhood experience. Monsters under the bed or in the closet. Strange noises and shadows.…
MorePosts tagged: Resilience
Productive Struggle
My middle daughter has a form of dyslexia in which her brain doesn’t easily associate how a letter looks with the…
MoreWhen Kids Need to Calm Down
I watched a mom hurriedly feeding an infant while another child hopped up and down next to the table. “But mommy,”…
MoreHelping Kids Find Their Anchors
My uncle took me fishing on his boat for my tenth birthday. Partway through the trip, his line snagged something and…
MoreWhen Children Shoot Children
A 14-year-old Georgia teen brought a gun to school yesterday, killing two other students and two teachers. Eleven other…
MoreActivating Social-Emotional Learning Skills
The beginning of a new school year is marked with excitement and anxiety. It’s a transition point, which requires…
MorePracticing Hopefulness
Hopefulness is more than just a spiritual virtue and positive emotional state. Psychologists also view it as a…
MoreAffirming Neurodiversity
I was recently invited to talk with a group of interns working in non-profit settings with kids. One noted that he had…
MoreMeaningful End-of-Year Recognition
Awards ceremonies are often a major event at the end of a program year. Some children eagerly await them, secure in the…
MoreHelping Kids Feel Important
“You never listen to me!” complained my nine-year-old. She was trying to tell me about the antics of some of the…
MoreHerb Garden Spirituality
My son’s favorite plant in our garden is chocolate mint. He says it smells like a Girl Scout cookie. One of my…
MoreHow Uncertainty Encourages Wonder
My youngest child really disliked surprises when he was a preschooler. He wanted everything to go as expected. If he…
MoreThree Components of Hope
My daughter’s third grade teacher had a unique way of addressing her students when they felt discouraged. She would…
MoreTelling Your Child You’re Seriously Ill
After weeks of endless (and often unkind) speculation, we now know: Princess Kate has cancer. She explains that she and…
MoreBooks for Women’s History Month
I have a bumper sticker on my car that reads, ‘Well-behaved women rarely make history’. It’s a reminder to myself…
MoreTalking with Kids about the Chiefs Parade Shooting
Nearly a million people were celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs and their Super Bowl win when shots rang out, killing…
MoreManaging Fears with Migration
When my daughter was little, she watched a movie where the mother died. Afterward, she would become upset every time…
MoreCreating a Calming Corner
December can be an overwhelming month for kids. Seasonal changes prompt a shift in clothing and outdoor activities.…
MoreManaging Misbehavior with Conscious Discipline
I’m watching a group of children prepare to act out a spiritual story. One child insists on taking the lead role, and…
MoreEncouraging Creative Thinking
While hanging out with a babysitter one evening, my children decided to create their own tabletop game. They drew a…
MoreExploring Change with Where is Home, Daddy Bear?
My family moved when I was a child. For the first 6 months, I refused to call the new house ‘home’. I did not want…
MorePracticing Calm
When my kids were little, getting everyone out of the house on time without tears or tantrums was a daily challenge.…
MoreMaking Belonging a Priority
Three weeks after my middle child started third grade, she was so anxious and upset that she couldn’t concentrate on…
MoreHelping Children Find Their Anchors
As we were preparing to move from one state to another, my four year old fell apart. “Where’s my train, my bunny,…
MoreExploring The Coquíes Still Sing
I grew up in Oklahoma, where tornadoes are a common summer occurrence. My family would huddle in the basement as sirens…
MoreMovement Meditation: Empowerment
Being a small person in a big world can be overwhelming at times. Children may feel overshadowed by the adults around…
MoreUsing Movement to Reduce Trauma Responses
Numerous studies show that stress is on the rise among children. Some experts suggest that school closures and pandemic…
MoreExploring Bad Days with Everything Will Be OK
Some days are just yucky. Things happen that children can’t control and don’t like. They might be little things,…
MoreExploring Fears with Bright Star
Fears are a part of childhood. Whether it’s worries about monsters under the bed, big dogs, loud noises, or parents…
MoreExploring Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with Kids
Marvel’s newest release, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, focuses on Rocket’s origin story as Groot, Mantis, Drax,…
MoreSuper Mario Spirituality
The Super Mario Bros. Movie begins with the Nintendo game’s familiar theme music, a siren call to multiple…
MoreTalking about Lockdown Drills with One Thursday Afternoon
Lockdown (Active Shooter) Drills have become a staple of children’s lives. Schools and organizations build them into…
MoreTalking about the Nashville School Shooting
Another school shooting, this time in Nashville. Seven people dead (including the shooter) and many more traumatized…
MoreBoosting Resilience with a ‘Helping Hand’
My kindergartener woke in the middle of the night sobbing. We had just learned earlier that her friend’s mom had been…
MoreExploring Loteria with Children
Daniel* wasn’t having much success lighting his campfire. Everything seemed stacked against him: too much wind, a…
MoreRihanna Spirituality
Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII performance is trending on social media. Several reviewers place it in their all-time top…
MoreFamily Hygge
It’s snowing outside, and all anyone wants to do is bundle up in a blanket, sip hot chocolate, and read. Maybe…
MoreHelping Kids Have a ‘Happy’ New Year
“10…9…8…7...6…5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!” My family celebrated the start of 2023 with sparkling…
MoreMeditation On Light
The winter months can be hard. Short days and long nights leave us longing for more sunlight. Cold temperatures chill…
MoreNurturing a Flexible Mindset
“But mom, you don’t understand! Practice ran over and now the internet is down and I can’t get to the language…
MoreStarters That Support Well-Being
“Can’t I just be 10 minutes late?” pleaded my daughter. We were driving to her Brownie troop meeting and I could…
MoreTaking Flight with The Year We Learned to Fly
Cultural and spiritual heritages are often passed on to new generations through stories and teachings by elders.…
MoreMindful Art
Self-awareness and emotional regulation are spiritual skills that every child needs. Research shows that art activities…
MoreHelping Kids Appreciate Facts
What is a fact? One basic definition is that facts are things that we know to be true because of experience,…
MoreBuilding Spiritual Resilience
As new Covid-19 cases decline in the U.S., families are embracing opportunities to reconnect and restart communal…
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