Three Ways to Tackle Anxiety Among Children

unhappy-girl-

The Anxiety Epidemic There is no question that anxiety among children (and adults for that matter) is on the rise. When I first began school counseling over 20+ years ago it was rare to have a child referred for anxiety.  By the time I left the field, I was running a regular group for students…

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3 Ways Technology Has Changed Kids’ Lives

Young girls playing or working on a computer

Three Ways Technology has Changed Everything for Kids (and what to do about it) I often hear experienced teachers complain about how students have changed over the years.  Children who will spend hours locked into a video game can hardly pay attention for ten minutes to a classroom lesson.  It seems that children of the…

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How to Raise Responsible, Self-Reliant Children

Family at kitchen

Helping Kids Develop a Can Do Attitude I often hear teachers and parents alike lament that the students today have little intrinsic motivation and initiative. Certainly as a school counselor, I  often presented lessons on being responsible. When asked what it means to be responsible, children usually have a good idea. They would identify tasks like…

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3 Ways to Help Children Develop Resilience

tug of war

3 Ways to Help Children Develop Resilience What does a child do when faced with a challenging situation? Give Up Find an adult to fix the problem Attempt to solve the problem What is resilience?  It is the ability to recover from difficulties. What are the key factors in developing resilience?  Here’s what we know…

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3 Ways to Help Kids Make Friends

kids on playground

Not having a friend can be hard… What if it’s the first day of school and you are the new kid in the class? What if you return to school after a summer off,  only to find that your best friend  has made a whole new set of friends and you aren’t in the circle…

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Taking the Stress out of Holiday Giving

kids and Christmas gifts

Holiday Giving and the 5 Love Languages Do you feel like your children or students have a case of the “Christmas gimmies?” Is “no” fast becoming  your most frequently used word during the holiday season? Are you rushed and stressed already about shopping and hosting family events? The holiday season is here and as usual…

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