Building a strong connection with our children is really important and taking the time to invest in our relationships with them at each stage of childhood and into the teenage years. Today Janine considers the opportunities we create for them to share what they like and what you enjoy also in day to day life. How can we connect with our kids well so that when they face challenges or difficulties they feel like they can come speak with you, the parent?
Here’s what Janine discusses in today’s episode:
Has your child hit their teenage years and puberty has started? Have you noticed their emotions are changing? What about their most extreme emotions? Do you find that your teenager can feel really angry at times?
In today’s episode, Janine unpacks some strategies to help you as parents support your teenager and how to develop that connection between yourself as the parent and them.
Here’s what Janine discusses in today’s episode:
OCD can manifest itself in different ways with different obsessions and focus that are going on in your life. Children’s author, Marin Canaday describes OCD feeling like a monster devouring your emotions and feelings, where you could get to the point where you feel out of control and you begin to believe the lies the OCD obsessions tell you about yourself…
A child at Elementary School will be learning and figuring out what emotions are and what’s going on in their bodies when their ‘big feelings’ appear. They’ll be learning to put names to their emotions and trying figuring out why they’re feeling what they are.
In the moments when they feel upset, overwhelmed and unable to put words to their emotions, there are some straightforward strategies we can have in our toolkit ready to use and support this age group with.
Here are some some of the strategies discussed in today’s episode:
It’s wonderful having a home set up where you have a reset or safe space where your kids can use strategies and process their emotions. But what happens when we go out? Having coping strategies ready is just as important. Whether that’s at school, traveling, out with friends, before a medical appointment or at parties knowing what you can do outside of the comfort of your own home is really helpful.
The topics I cover in this episode are:
On today’s podcast, I get a chance to speak with Natasha Daniels, the founder of AT Parenting Community, about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Natasha’s expertise is anxiety and OCD, and we discuss what OCD can look like, when you should seek out more support, and different strategies that you should use when dealing with OCD.
Anxiety is not a bad emotion, it is one that we need to keep ourselves safe in the world. But sometimes anxiety can become overwhelming to the point that it affects the daily life of the adult or child - this is the type of worry we need to work on. What better way to learn about this than with the fantastic parent coach and psychologist Dr. Dawn Huebner who teaches us how to help kids deal with worry and anxiety.
You’re out with your son running errands and you can see his anxiety getting bigger and bigger. You can’t delay these errands, but you’re noticing he looks like he’s about to head into full meltdown mode. And you don’t have his coping skills toolkit with you right now. What can you do? Maybe there’s an app that could help.
I’m Janine Halloran, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, an Elementary School Counselor and a mom of two elementary school aged children. Over the last 15 years, I’ve worked with children around managing big feelings and emotions. Early in my career, I realized the importance of making sure my clients have healthy coping skills. Whenever I work with someone, my goal is to make sure they end up with a variety of healthy coping skills they can use every day.
