Coping Skills, Podcast
Janine Halloran
Take a Mini Mental Vacation

Today, I’m highlighting one of my favorite coping skills to use: Take a mini mental vacation wherever you are. You’ll hear an example of what a mini mental vacation can look like and how to practice this method. 

Coping Skills, Podcast
Janine Halloran
Overcoming Social Anxiety from Childhood to ...

What is social anxiety and how big an impact does this have for a child and the difference for an adult? How can you tell the difference between social anxiety and being an introvert? These are just some of the questions Janine speaks about with Natasha Daniels as she also talks about her memoir Out of My Shell. 

In today’s episode Janine speaks to Emily about:

Coping Skills, Podcast
Janine Halloran
Becoming a Tech Intentional Family with Emily ...

What does it mean to be a tech intentional family? Now phones, ipads and other forms of technology are in most areas of life. There’s no size that fits all and what works for you and your family will look so different to your next door neighbor and the other parents you meet at the school gate. So where do you begin? 

In today’s episode Janine speaks to Emily about:

Coping Skills, Podcast
Janine Halloran
Three Playful and Creative Ways to Explore ...

Play is such a powerful way for kids you learn ANYTHING including coping skills. Games can also be a way to help us learn and identify the feelings we have. Plus being a lot of fun along the way!  

Coping Skills, Podcast
Janine Halloran
Three playful ways to explore feelings with kids

What does happy feel like? What about being nervous? Sad or excited? Learning to identify feelings is so important for kids - when kids can label their feelings, it’s easier for them to self-regulate. One of the best ways to learn is through play, and you can work on feelings identification in fun and playful ways. 

In this episode Janine discusses:

sensory

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Getting Kids and Teens Back on Track with Dr. Rebecca Jackson

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Getting Kids and Teens Back on Track with Dr. Rebecca Jackson

When you’re expecting a baby or experiencing the first year of their life, there are books which tell you all the key development growth points to be looking out for and what comes next. We don’t talk about these as well as we could as our children go through childhood and adolescents. What emotions should they be feeling at what point? Is this behavior or outburst normal? 

As they grow and develop, one of the questions that gets asked is, “What does a healthy brain look like?” Our brain reacts to different pathways and it can affect our mood and responses. If we can understand the brain we can understand why we teach our children different skills and functions at key life stages and certain ages. Rebecca shares how if we can understand the brain then we can understand how to support our children’s next steps and if needed support getting them back on track. 

The topics we cover…

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Sensational Sensory Strategies with Dr. Varleisha

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Sensational Sensory Strategies with Dr. Varleisha

Have you ever considered the neuroscience behind how we self-regulate our emotions? How do these two work together? Some children may respond in fight or flight mode in some situations. But how does your child’s body and emotions respond and why in these specific moments?  What pathways are connecting in your child’s brain to cause certain reactions? Knowing your child and techniques to keep them calm can help moments like this - it’s more than just a behavior, but thinking about the child as a whole. 

The topics we cover…

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Coping Skills for Adults: Sensory Strategies

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Coping Skills for Adults: Sensory Strategies

This episode is the next installment of ‘Coping skills for adults’ and I wanted to explore some sensory strategies we can use to cope, de-stress, and relax throughout our days. We’re all busy people so if we can take these mini relaxation moments to de-stress then it won’t feel like another item to add to the to-do list, you can do it while you’re at the supermarket or working at your desk.

The topics we cover in this episode are:

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Sensory Based Strategies for Kids with Claire Heffron

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Sensory Based Strategies for Kids with Claire Heffron

Does your child like to move and fidget a lot? Maybe lay upside down or spin around in circles? This isn’t just a random act of silliness or hyperactivity, they are likely gaining sensory input! In this episode, my guest Claire and I discuss proprioception, which is your body's ability to sense movement, action, and location. It's present in every muscle movement you have. Without proprioception, you wouldn't be able to move without thinking about your next step. We also discuss the vestibular system which functions to detect the position and movement of our head in space. This allows for the coordination of eye movements, posture, and equilibrium.

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Help Kids Cope with BIG Feelings Using Their Senses

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Help Kids Cope with BIG Feelings Using Their Senses

We all know the 5 senses of the human body, being sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing but have you heard of proprioception or vestibular? 

Proprioception at its basic level is the information you receive from your muscles and your joints. It helps your body to understand when you are stretching, compressing or contracting a muscle. You may see difficulties with this in your child particularly in their handwriting, do they press so hard on the pencil that it breaks? Or perhaps they aren’t putting enough pressure on the pen that you can’t even see their handwriting? Proprioception works very closely with the vestibular system which is more about your brain intaking information for your balance and spatial awareness. 

In this episode I run you through 7 sensory based strategies to help your child relax and manage their feelings which includes:

Book Review: Understanding Your Child's Sensory Signals

Book Review: Understanding Your Child's Sensory Signals

One of my favorite resources to help families who are dealing with Sensory Processing Disorder is A Sensory Life, created by Angie Voss. I've worked with a lot of kids who have difficulties with sensory input, and this website had a wealth of information for parents whose kids struggle with sensory issues.

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The Value of Movement

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The Value of Movement

Have you ever been at a busy playground surrounded by children moving in all sorts of different directions? As a mom of two, I often find myself there. And every time, it always strikes me as beautiful chaos. The cacophony of voices and the constant movement. All you see is children running, almost in a blur.

Copyright © Coping Skills for Kids, part of Encourage Play, LLC 2021