Help Me Grow | United Way of Utah County

Tag: Behavior

8 Tips for Delivering Trauma-Informed Feedback to Your Child

Children who have experienced trauma often react to both positive and negative feedback a bit differently than other children. Brookes Publishing discusses some ideas for teacher-student interactions on how to give both positive and corrective feedback. These ideas can also translate to how you respond in the home. For positive feedback, make it: Low-key and private. Use nonverbal

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Working Towards the Ideal: Affection in the Home

Memories and physical pictures remind me of my relationship with my Dad. From sitting in the pew next to him in church or on the couch for a movie, Dad wanted to squeeze my ears, arms, and fingers. As I grew up and became more aware of my Dad’s way of loving, I grew to

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What is the Window of Tolerance?

Know your limits As parents, we get pushed to our limits. The rollercoaster of parenthood takes us up, down, around, backward, and sometimes through flaming rings of fire. Often we may ask the question: am I going to survive this? The Window of Tolerance offers perspective into understanding one’s own personal limits. Knowing one’s own

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Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior Part 2

 If you have already read Part 1 of Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior, you know that two very big topics were left to Part 2: How to promote healthy boundaries and communication with trusted adults, and What you (the parent) should do when something is troubling regarding your child’s sexual behaviors. Since these topics can be

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Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior: Part 1

 We all know it’s part of human nature and development, but many questions are associated with self-touch and sexual behavior in young children. It’s a sensitive topic for parents for many reasons: religious beliefs and personal values, inexperience in explaining body development and appropriate behaviors with children, uncertainty around what is typical at this young

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Simple Ways to Help Your Child’s Intrinsic Motivation Flourish

I was reading an article the other day that talked about studies in favor of toddlers sincerely enjoying and wanting opportunities to help those around them. After finishing the article, I wondered, “where does all that ‘helping spirit’ go when they get older?” And why is it that some older children are more willing to help than

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Sensory Sensitive or Sensory Seeking? Understanding Sensory Processing

The Eight Sensory Systems “It’s too loud! Can you turn down the volume?” “No hugs! Stop touching me!” “If he keeps eating, he’s going to gag himself again!” “Why is he rocking back and forth?” Have you ever heard these phrases? If you have, you are probably familiar with sensory processing. Without us knowing it,

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Tantrums: A Good Thing?

As a Parent Support Specialist, one of the most common concerns that I hear about are tantrums. Often irrational, unpredictable, and unpacifiable, it comes as no surprise to me that tantrums can be so concerning to parents that are simply trying their best to keep their child happy and breathing. What is a parent to

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Tantrums: What’s Behind Them, and How to Help Your Child Through Them

What’s behind a tantrum? When a toy goes missing, when their cookie falls on the floor, when another child won’t share. In a toddler’s world, moments like these can result in every parent’s nightmare: a tantrum. Hidden behind these intense reactions to life experiences is the process of recognizing what emotions are, and how to

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10 Coping Techniques to Use with your Child

Have you ever noticed how life has a tendency to throw all sorts of unexpected twists and turns, especially at the least convenient times? I’ve heard enough experiences to know that this doesn’t just happen to me; everyone has their own story. It’s often hard for me (but really, most adults as well) to deal

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