Guidance for families

It takes practice to learn how to be a good friend who is kind, supportive, trustworthy, and a good listener. These are skills kids can begin to learn at an early age.

On the way home from preschool one day, my five-year-old began to tell me a fascinating story. A boy at school had hit him, he shared. “But you can’t tell the teachers about it, Mom!” Alarmed, I asked him for more…

Compassion means we care about others, treat them with kindness, and feel a strong desire to help people in need. Compassion is empathy in action. For an eight-year-old, compassion might look like giving a hug, making a…

Everywhere we look we see ads showcasing the bodies of our cultural ideal—ultrathin women with bright smiles who radiate happiness, and powerful men with just the right amount of muscle who exude self-confidence. Kids…

Below are Twelve Tips for Raising Confident Kids

We were in the grocery story parking lot, and my two-year-old was in the middle of a tantrum. I let my daughter know that I was going to carry her to the car to keep her safe. Once the car door closed, I tried one of…

Boredom gets a bad rap. Kids whine about it, grown-ups dread it, entire industries aim to eliminate it. It might come as a surprise, then, to hear that being bored sometimes is good for kids. Before you sign your child…

From taking their first steps to learning how to read, children gain self-confidence as they master new skills. This gives them the courage to continue to explore and expand their abilities.

We are hard-wired to pick up on other people’s emotions.

As a teacher, I noticed that children respond to challenges in different ways. Some children try harder when facing a tough task. Others, like Marshall, crumble at the slightest challenge.

Two preschoolers sit in the sandbox digging and chatting. From a distance, they appear to be talking nonstop. A few minutes into this “conversation”, however, one child appears upset and moves away from the other child…

I’d love to say that when one of my daughters has a problem, my usual response is to cheerfully sing, “When you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath and count to four!” just like my characters from…

As a former early childhood teacher and parenting educator, I’ve heard countless conversations between children and the important adults in their lives that have given me a window into their unique life experiences.

Help children see honesty as an act of courage and responsibility – something worth striving for.

Grit involves sticking with something until you succeed. It’s another word for perseverance and resilience, and it gives us the strength to try, try, try again. Grit supports a “growth mindset”