By Lenore Skenazy, Jonathan Haidt — 2017
Bad policy and paranoid parenting are making kids too safe to succeed.
Read on reason.com
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Of course we want to keep children safe. But exposure to normal stresses and strains is vital for their future wellbeing.
All kids feel anxious or stressed sometimes, like when they’re getting ready for a big test. But kids who learn and think differently may feel stress more often or more intensely. Self-soothing techniques can help them relax and regain their sense of control.
Even for a psychologist who studies how kids understand racism and violence, talking to her own children about it is difficult.
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The GOP candidate is creating fear and confusion in children, especially kids of color. Here are three suggestions for talking with kids about race and racism in the media.
If the threats we encounter are extreme, persistent, or frequent, we become too sensitized, overreacting to minor challenges and sometimes experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
“You’re always communicating about race, whether you talk about it or not.”
As a marriage dissolves, some parents find themselves asking questions like, “Should we stay together for the kids?” Other parents find divorce is their only option.
It’s hard to see a child unhappy. Whether a child is crying over the death of a pet or the popping of a balloon, our instinct is to make it better, fast. That’s where too many parents get it wrong, says the psychologist Susan David, author of the book “Emotional Agility.
Raising an empathetic and kind kid is a beautiful thing, but it’s also important to prepare kids for the real world.
Children are hard-wired for empathy, but it needs to be gently brought to life. Adults are in a prime position to nurture and develop empathy and emotional wisdom in their children.