Back in college, a good friend and I had our hearts broken at about the same time. I remember being embarrassed by how physically sore I felt. It wasn’t cool to have your heart broken. I knew I was supposed to tell myself the break-up was ‘for the best’ and bounce back, but I felt…
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Trauma from events like Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can dramatically impact both individuals and their families long after the event itself is over. Even people who have experienced things that you wouldn’t necessarily think was a huge deal (which psychologists call “little t trauma”) can elevate a person’s risk for a wide-range of social, emotional,…
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Helen Keller said: “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) hadn’t been formally named and studied yet back in Helen Keller’s day (the landmark study was published in 1998), but she still recognized both trauma and resilience in the world. We all…
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‘Building a foundation for life-long learning’ is a common phrase to find in school mission statements, yet student motivation is an ongoing concern in public education: children’s engagement with learning actually decreases as time spent in traditional school increases. For parents of preschoolers, this news may be surprising. After all, our young children have an…
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Have you heard of Gitanjali Rao? She’s from Colorado, and she was named America’s Top Young Scientist in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017 – at age 11. She’s a brilliant kid. Her award-winning project was an inexpensive device that detects the presence of lead in tap water faster than currently used…
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Key Takeaways Children have meltdowns over small things because they process accumulated stress, making minor incidents trigger big emotional reactions. What’s the difference between suppressing emotions and reappraising? Suppression hides feelings while reappraisal acknowledges and manages them. Parents say “you’re ok” when children cry because adults feel uncomfortable with crying and want to stop pain,…
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It’s that time of year again: Black Friday (the day when we spend more than $6 billion (and $2 billion of that on smartphones) is past, and the end-of-year holidays are on the way. Everywhere you turn there are suggestions and promotions for the best gift you can buy for your loved ones: a simple…
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Holidays are a time of family, friends, and passing on traditions to children. The songs, the sparkly celebration lights, families coming together – everything says that this is the most wonderful time of the year. And most of the time, it is. Although at other times it can be extremely stressful! If you have young…
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Do you have memories of dressing up like Pilgrims and Indians for the annual Thanksgiving school play? Many Americans grew up hearing the tale of the First Thanksgiving repeated by books, teachers, and parents and came to accept this as fact although many of us are now realizing that this story has little basis in…
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Learning the truth about Thanksgiving As I’ve mentioned before, teaching children about Thanksgiving – and even celebrating it – can be extremely problematic once you look beyond the myths that have been perpetuated about it for generations. The traditional narrative of the Pilgrims with tall black hats and “Indians” wearing headdresses (what is it about…
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