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:
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:
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:
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.
Inside: Instructions for making your own feeling faces chart using your own children's faces
Emojis are like a modern day feeling faces charts. When I first started out as a therapist, there was that one particular image of feelings faces that everybody used. Nowadays with emoji's everywhere, there are so many more choices out there for creative feeling faces charts.
Inside: 5 tips for helping kids cope with anxiety, stress and anger in healthy and safe ways.
The phone rings, and your heart stops when you notice the number. You know it’s because your daughter is having a hard time at school again. What could it be this time? A writing assignment she didn’t respond well to? A kid brushed her off?
You take a deep breath and answer the phone.
Inside: A book review of the Happy Kid Handbook by Katie Hurley. It's a wonderful addition to any parent's bookshelf!
Have you ever read a book that you couldn’t put down? That you felt compelled to underline and highlighted and put sticky notes all over? This happened to me when I started reading The Happy Kid Handbook. I got it out of the library and as soon as I started, I knew I needed to get my own copy so I could underline and highlight to my heart’s desire.
Here are a few of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much and why I find it to be an extremely valuable resource.
Inside: 10+ Strategies you can use today to help an angry child cool down and diffuse anger quickly.
Your son and daughter have been playing together while you get dinner ready.
Your daughter says joyfully “Connect 4!” as she wins the 3rd game in a row. And then it begins. Your son growls, and yells “You’re cheating!” then knocks the game off the table.
Inside: All about fidgets - why they help, who can benefit from using them, and lots of suggested fidgets, both those that you can DIY and those you can buy.
We all know those kids who can’t quite get settled in the classroom. They may have a hard time sitting down to get their homework done. They may be zoning off in the middle of a lesson in school. Or they may look like they are paying attention, but their mind is constantly wandering off. These kids might benefit from a fidget!
Inside: A Child Therapist’s favorite books for kids and teens to help them deal with stress and anxiety. Use books to start talking about healthy ways to cope.
Your daughter slumps in her chair at breakfast. Recently, it’s been like pulling teeth to get her ready for school in the morning. She hasn’t touched her toast, which is really unusual - she typically has a healthy appetite. She keeps biting her nails, and hasn’t asked for a playdate in weeks!
Inside: Symptoms to look for that can help you determine if your child is experiencing stress or anxiety, and tips that can help you and your child.
Wouldn’t it be nice if your child came up to you and said “Mom, I’m quite stressed about my quiz on Friday” or “I’m really anxious about my piano recital”.
While that would be super helpful, most kids don’t have the language to express themselves that clearly. Instead, it’s up to us to be stress and anxiety detectives with our children. But what are you looking for and what do you do when you do see it?
