(updated: 1/5/19) I've been reading aloud Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves to my 13-year-old daughter. It was a school assignment. She didn't want to read it so we're reading it together. Interestingly enough, it's been really helpful. It's helping AJ label emotions and also providing strategies to improve her emotional self-awareness and emotional self-management. … [Read more...]
Can Phone Obsessed Kids Develop Emotional Intelligence?
One of the worries I have for my daughter and her friends is that phones are stunting their emotional intelligence skills -- particularly in the areas of social awareness and relationship management. And it's clear that EQ is a huge predictor of personal happiness and academic success so if it's not well developed, well, that wouldn't be ideal. What's more, I imagine kids' phones are also used … [Read more...]
MySELF Social Emotional Learning Books
MySELF (Social Emotional Learning Foundations) books help children in PreK - 1st grade build both their early literacy skills and social and emotional intelligence skills. When children aquire and apply the skills necessary to manage emotions, set and achieve goals, resolve conflicts, feel empathy for others, and make responsible decisions, this is called social emotional learning (SEL). A … [Read more...]
How to Help Your Kids Deal with the Colorado Shooting Tragedy
I can't believe it; but I can believe it. A shooting in a crowded movie theater of children and adults. Innocents. Precious lives destroyed. I feel sadness and anger. You may not want to talk to your school-age kids about this - and because school is out, that's a more viable option than normally. However, if your children are around other kids, they will hear about the shooting at some point. … [Read more...]
Cancer Sucks! When a Parent has Cancer
Her husband got the news last week-- cancer. (Again.) Their boys are one and four. When she told me, I taught her boys a bad word. Somehow it just slipped out. Sorry. Cancer is scary and big and makes me MAD. When A Parent Has Cancer Not knowing what to do I asked another friend, Michelle, a breast cancer survivor with two young kids. She told me, "Support her by taking care of the … [Read more...]