The Power of Proximity- Teaching Children to Regulate Big Emotions

The Power of Proximity- Teaching Children to Regulate Big Emotions
I recently sat down with a mom who told me her story about parenting a child who has experienced living in an orphanage, foster care, and being adopted at two different times in his life. I was moved by her strength and the lessons she has learned as she strives to become a person of stability in this young boy's life. She described using ideas from the Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) therapy model that have helped her reach her child ...
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Navigating Children’s Emotional Meltdowns

Navigating Children’s Emotional Meltdowns
If there's one thing I've learned about toddlers, it's that they have some pretty big feelings , and sometimes they struggle to convey those feelings well. Sometimes, they know what they're trying to say, but are unsure about how to express what they feel, or they may not understand what they're feeling, and that can be scary for a child. This can create a challenge for parents as they seek to help their kids learn how to use words to express the...
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6 Ways to Help Your Child Cope with Worry and Anxiety

6 Ways to Help Your Child Cope with Worry and Anxiety
Is your child nervous about the start of the school year? It's common for all kids to feel nervous about beginning school. For some though, those beginning of the year nerves turn into something more. If you've noticed your student is struggling with excessive worry or anxiety, there are several simple things you can do to help. Below is a list of ways to help your child cope with worry and anxiety. Have your child tense and relax each muscle gro...
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Helping Children Cope with Divorce

Helping Children Cope with Divorce
Divorce is a common challenge many children face, and though this decision may be best for your family, you as a parent may worry about how this change will affect the little ones. How you break the news to your child and how you each cope with it will affect how well your child adjusts to the divorce. Children might struggle with finding out about the restructuring of their family, and being clear about what's going on will help them take it bet...
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How to Explain Difficult Subjects to Young Children

How to Explain Difficult Subjects to Young Children
We live in a time of political turmoil, disease, and natural disasters. At home, we may be enduring trials such as divorce, the death of a loved one, or mental illness. These difficult subjects are hard enough to talk about with other adults. Attempting to explain these events to children can be a daunting task. So, how are our kids feeling about and learning about the difficult things around them? Explaining difficult subjects to young children ...
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Helping Your Child with Personal Boundaries

Helping Your Child with Personal Boundaries
Personal boundaries are more than just standing 6 feet apart from strangers. Some children are too shy to engage with many of their friends, so they don't have a lot of practice with appropriate boundaries. Some children are best-of-friends with everyone they meet, and parents may worry this will put their child in danger someday. Here is a short list of helpful reminders when teaching children about personal boundaries --no matter how experience...
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Benefits of Allowing Your Child to Fail

Benefits of Allowing Your Child to Fail
While allowing kids to fail feels messy and frightening, letting them learn from their mistakes helps them to become empowered, releasing the controlling hold of fear that paralyzes decisions and helps develop lasting, deep rooted accountability along with, ironically, building the self confidence that comes with personal autonomy and recovery from failure. Failure is a part of life. Some of the most successful people in this world have seen the ...
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Public Tantrum Survival Guide

Public Tantrum Survival Guide
It's 5:10 pm. You were supposed to be at the park to meet the babysitter 10 minutes ago. But you're stuck at the grocery store waiting in line after rushing in to grab "just a few things"... with the 3-year old. Shockingly, Susie kept asking for candy after you specifically told her NO MORE CANDY. You're feeling defeated because you caved and gave Susie your cell phone to distract her. You're fumbling through your purse looking for your wallet. Y...
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Teaching Kids To Handle Embarrassment

Teaching Kids To Handle Embarrassment
I remember when I was 12 my family went to a restaurant and the waiter asked me the classic question, "Do you want soup, or salad?". I had just graduated from the kids menu and wasn't used to that question, so misunderstanding what he said I responded very confused with, "yeah I'll have the super-salad…". Thinking he was going to bring me a ginormous salad. My answer obviously confused him, so he responded with, "so you want the salad then?", whi...
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5 Tips for Improving Family Mealtime

5 Tips for Improving Family Mealtime
Children in today's hurried, high-tech world need structured, routine times when they can connect with their parents and siblings. One of the best ways to do that is family mealtimes. Many of us are so busy that we may feel if we are not multi-tasking all the time, we are not productive enough. We often multitask feeding our children by putting a meal down in front of them and then turning around to do dishes, move over a load of laundry, or take...
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Guest Post: The Power of Meditation for Mothers

Guest Post: The Power of Meditation for Mothers
  I never considered myself a particularly emotional person. Well, that is, until I had kids. Becoming a mother has a way of helping our emotions to "blossom." And of course by that I mean, all the wonderful emotions, like deep love, elation, pride, real joy. . . but let's be honest-- most of us have had other emotions blossom in motherhood as well, like guilt, frustration, anger, loneliness, anxiety, exhaustion. . . among many others. I fea...
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Animal Breathing to Calm Your Child

Animal Breathing to Calm Your Child
I love training in martial arts. There's something really fulfilling for me to be able to master a new technique while getting a really great workout in. One aspect of martial arts that I really connect with is the need to breathe. We all struggle with different challenges. We are all more capable of handling life's challenges a little bit easier if we can just breathe. Gentri, Help Me Grow's Call Center Manager, wrote an amazing article on Copin...
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Three Ways to Make Meaningful Moments with Your Child

Three Ways to Make Meaningful Moments with Your Child
Take a moment to think of someone you just love to pieces. Are you thinking of them? What is it about them that you love? Do they have to act a certain way to earn your love? I can think of two people that are very special to me. My parents. I love to joke around and have fun with them, I love to listen to their stories and talk with them, and I love to share experiences with them. Some of the most important attributes my parents have which make ...
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Kindergarten: Is Your Child Ready?

Kindergarten: Is Your Child Ready?
This week I went to Target and saw that all of the school items are out and school shopping has already begun! As a result to this sighting, I was laying in bed reminiscing on my kindergarten experience. My son is not nearly old enough for Kindergarten, but I wonder how his experience might be different from mine when that day does come. I remember a few things from Kindergarten very distinctly, like coloring a picture of an apple on my first day...
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Tantrums: A Good Thing?

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 do when it appears that their child is the only one crying on the floor in the grocery store, or when they seem to still throw a tan...
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The Grieving Child

The Grieving Child
When we contemplate of the grieving process, we tend to think of the five stages of grief ( Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance) first proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. Many people's general understanding of these stages is that you move from one to another at a steady pace. You are supposed to start with 'denial' and end with 'acceptance'. Right? When my father passed away a couple of years ...
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A Parent's Experience with Help Me Grow Utah

A Parent's Experience with Help Me Grow Utah
  Being with Help Me Grow has been one of the most rewarding experiences. I have worked with Help Me Grow for nearly 2.5 years, and I have learned so much from all of my coworkers and the parents I've talked to. As I reflect on all of the things I have done with regards to this job, I hope that I have helped make a difference in the lives of the parents and families that I've worked with. One of the mothers that I've worked with for over 2 y...
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The Princess Bride and Fear of Public Restrooms

The Princess Bride and Fear of Public Restrooms
You just spent the last several weeks inside the house (hopefully during winter) watching "The Princess Bride" over and over while potty training your toddler. It wasn't exactly like climbing the cliffs of insanity, but close. Now that it's Spring you want to get out of the house and go on an outing, but there's one problem: What do you do if she's gotta "go" while you're out? Inconceivable! Public bathrooms are scary, loud, and often less than s...
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Following Your Child's Ages and Stages

Following Your Child's Ages and Stages
There are many perks to being the oldest child; every little milestone is tracked, celebrated, and recognized. Everything from my first words, to walking, and even toilet training, it was an exciting time for my parents to watch me grow. There was a sense of anticipation with each milestone, and as I learned new skills, they looked forward to what I'd be learning next. I was able to experience a little bit of that excitement when my youngest sist...
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How to Foster Empathy and Gratitude During the Holiday Season

How to Foster Empathy and Gratitude During the Holiday Season
Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas! Ah, 'tis the season for oversized sweaters, hot cocoa, red wind swept cheeks and Hallmark movies. It's also that time of year when children young and old start wondering what Santa or their parents might put under the tree for them come Christmas morning. While the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping is real and exciting, how can we make sure we are also fostering an environment of empathy and gratitude with our chi...
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