Articles

Tips to Help Siblings Get Along Encourage siblings to express their feelings about one another with words. “I feel sad when you take my toy without asking.” Teach children how to get attention from their siblings in a positive way, such as asking to play together. “I’m building a block tower. Do you want to […]

Helping Preschoolers Cope with Scary Events We can’t prevent scary events from happening, but we can do our best to know what and how much information our children are being exposed to about the events. Children are often frightened by uncertainty, change, and adult emotional responses. The following tips help children cope during scary times: […]

Practical Tips for Parenting Accept your child’s feelings when she is angry, sad, or frustrated. Saying “I can see you’re upset” doesn’t mean giving in; it helps identify emotions and tells the child you understand. Give your child choices such as what color pants to wear or choosing between two pieces of fruit for a […]

A skill that children will benefit from learning is moderation. Caregivers can give a lot of opportunities for children to practice this critical life skill. Is it Misbehavior or Too Much? Too much of anything – toys, treats, activities – can be harmful to children. Rushing from one activity to another can be stressful. It […]

Reinforce Good Behavior Use positive words to teach children. Say “do” instead of “don’t” and “yes” instead of “no.” Rather than saying, “Don’t shout!” say “Do kindly use your inside voice. Go to a different space to show a preschooler where a behavior is allowed. For example, move a child doing somersaults in a crowded […]

Children often have strong overwhelming feelings. Adults may be confused by the intensity of children’s feelings, yet they want to help children understand and manage feelings. Emotion coaching helps adults master this important caregiving skill. Identify the feeling by saying something like, “It looks like you are feeling mad.” Validate/empathize with the feeling by saying […]

Death is the end of life. It is when the heart stops beating the brain stops thinking, and the body can no longer see, hear, smell, touch, taste, or breath. Grief is the process of separating from someone or something important to you, and yet holding on to some connection. Grief or mourning can bring […]

Helping Preschoolers Appreciate Differences Talking about diversity helps children celebrate the unique differences in all people. This helps develop the knowledge and attitudes to thrive in a complex, diverse world. Tips to Talk About Diversity with Your Preschooler Adults play an important role in helping embrace differences. Your reaction, behavior and words matter. Help children […]

Bedtime Routine Tips Have a consistent bedtime and stick to it whenever possible; choose and plan the routine that works best for your family. Follow the same routine every night. For example, a typical bedtime routine might look like this: story, goodnight kiss, lights off, eyes closed for sleep. When you follow the same routine […]

Cool and Collected: The Benefits of Calming Down Children can handle anger, frustration, and other “big” emotions more constructively when they are taught how to calm themselves. Being composed in difficult situations is best learned early in life. When children can recognize their feelings, they can begin to understand that anger and frustration are normal. […]