Blog
Resources
Blog
Can Rewards Change Behaviour?
Offering rewards – as in “get good marks in school and I will buy you a new toy/game” – is an oft used parenting strategy. The question is, does it actually work? Research shows that for mundane, repetitive tasks, rewards do work. For more complex tasks where nuanced...
Listening With Intention
Listening with intention to our children is critical. If we want our children to know that they are seen, then we need to listen with intention. Not just hear their words, but also be fully present and engaged in the process of listening. Mindful listening and active...
4 Ways to Hold onto your Joy this Winter (or How to Not “Lose It” on a Daily Basis)
If your family is like mine and the other families I know, heading into December feeling like “I’ve got this!” is a daunting task. On top of all the usual ups and downs of family life, there are the added emotions that the upcoming holiday brings. Extended family...
Beyond Flight, Fight, Freeze
Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University. She spent years telling people that stress was bad for them; that stress would increase their risk of experiencing all sorts of minor and major...
What Are Your Family’s Values?
Values Values are what is important to you; the guideposts by which you’ll make decisions. They are qualities that reflect who you want to be in the world. When we make decisions that take into account our values, we are more congruent and will feel more connected to...
Meal Times Matter
Family meal times are an opportunity for families to come together, check in with each other, share information on how the day is going, and generally just touch base in our fast-paced lives. Children learn societal values and cultural norms around food and eating;...
Parent Wellbeing
Wellbeing. What does it mean? And how does your wellbeing affect you and your family? Wellbeing is a balance between your resources and your challenges. There are psychological, social and physical dimensions on both sides. It is not static; our wellbeing changes. Our...
Elli Uses Her Mindfulness to Self-Regulate.
Figuring out what practices work for you and your family - whether they be mindfulness, kindness, compassion, gratitude or any other type of practice - is a process. My daughter, when she was four, used to tell me quite emphatically, "I don't want to take deep...
The Science of Kindness
Contrary to the "every person for themselves" belief, humans have survived precisely because of our social behaviour. Our ancestors' ability to work together - to hunt, to look after our young ones - ensured their survival. Having strong prosocial skills meant that...
Resources
Below are some websites, resource books for parents, children’s books, and other resources that I have used and recommend.
Websites
Heart-Mind Online is a website developed by the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education offering social and emotional learning resources for parents and professionals. Has activities that you can do with your family or students.
Kids In the House is a site for parents and caregivers with over 9000 videos from over 450 experts including doctors, psychologists, therapists, authors, parents, and caregivers, offering tips and advice on raising children. Most videos are about 2 minutes long. Covers ages birth to post high school.
This is the website of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning which was founded by Daniel Goldman, Linda Lanetiri and in 1990. CASEL is the leading authority on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). According to CASEL, “Social and emotional learning (SEL) enhances students’ capacity to integrate skills, attitudes, and behaviors to deal effectively and ethically with daily tasks and challenges.” The SEL framework that CASEL uses has five competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
This is Dr. Kristin Neff’s website. Dr. Neff is one of the leading experts on self-compassion. There are guided meditations that you can download as well as self-compassion exercises on her site.
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu
Greater Good is the online magazine of The Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) which is based at the University of California, Berkeley, Bringing together research and practice, GGSC studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, and teaches skills to encourage and thriving and resilient society.
http://mindfulnessforteens.com
Dr. Dzung Vo, the author of The Mindful Teen: Powerful Skills to Help You Handle Stress One Moment at a Time (New Harbinger, 2015), offers an introduction to mindfulness that is youth-friendly. Dr. Vo is also a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine at British Columbia Children’s Hospital, and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, Vancouver, Canada.
Books for Parents
Brainstorm, Dr. Dan Siegel
Permission to Feel, Dr. Marc Brackett
Self-Compassion, Dr. Kirstin Neff
The Gift of Failure, Jessica Lahey
The Mindful Child, Susan Kaiser Greenland
The Mindful Teen: Powerful Skills to Help You Handle Stress One Moment at a Time, Dr. Dzung Vo
The Whole Brain Child, Dr. Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
Books for Children and Youth
Some of these books are on practices you can do with children and youth while others are fiction books that provide opportunities to discuss emotions, perspective-taking, identity and other social and emotional skills.
A Boy and A Bear, Lori Lite
A Fish in a Tree, Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Guts, Raina Telgemeier
Mindful Games, Susan Kaiser Greenland
Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda by Lauren Alderfer
Peaceful Piggy Meditation, Kerry MacLean
Sitting Still Like a Frog; Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents), Eline Snel
Smile, Raina Telgemeier
The Mindful Teen: Powerful Skills to Help You Handle Stress One Moment at a Time, Dr. Dzung Vo
The Way I Feel, Janan Cain
Walter Was Worried, Laura Vacarro Seeger
Wonder, R. J. Palacio
Other resources
Sarb takes amazing and authentic family photos. Her mission is “to help you preserve the way you love, the way you laugh, and capture the best version of you today so that the images we create together will mark this incredible stage in your life forever.” Sarb also donates 5% of your session purchase to Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders (MSF).
Get the Becoming a Truly Compassionate Parent Workbook
Download your free guide and workbook to learn what it means to be a truly compassionate parent. Use the workbook prompts and reflection questions to identify how you can apply this to your life and unique circumstances.
