For many parents, growing the capacity to respond well to the needs of their child is one of the greatest challenges of life. Emerging research in neurobiology, brain development, and relationships is provides some valuable insight into this challenge. Through research, mental health professionals and early childhood development experts are learning how better to support parents in their work to raise healthy, resilient kids in the face of the unique challenges of parenting in a modern world.
Many of my favorite illustration projects as a mental health artist involve interpreting this research – which can be technical, dry, and hard to read in it’s rw form – into engaging illustrations that can be used for teaching parenting classes, one-on-one with parenting coaches, or used by individual parents for their own development.
Kids with caregivers who give them permission to feel big feelings and that give them support in managing those feelings are kids with tools who are able to become adults who can regulate emotions and find resiliency in the face of crisis.
Today, I’m releasing a simple visual illustrating how empathic, attuned parenting can disrupt one common cycle behind problem behaviors at home or in the classroom.
Read More about Flow Chart: Resolving Kid’s Problem Behaviors Through Coping Skills
Pre-teen, pre-adolescent, pre-pubescent, tween… Regardless of what term is used – we’ve all been there, most of us know one, and some of us are parenting (teaching, counseling, etc.) one. As the stepping stone from childhood to adolescence, this time frame can be a tough one to navigate for both tweens and for those attempting to engage and connect with tweens.
Connecting with preteens can be especially difficult. Not quite kids, and not quite adolescents, tweens deserve more credit than we tend to give them.
Read More about How to Connect with Tweens: 8 Tips for Authentic Engagement
All of us have some resiliency to cope with challenges. When we encounter difficult experiences that take us past the range of our ability to tolerate, the ways we tend to respond fall into one of two categories: those of us who get agitated, and those of us who shut down.
Emotional regulation refers to our ability to stay present, engaged, and able to listen and learn despite challenges. My rainbow of emotional regulation is a social-emotional learning resource that can help teach this concept in the classroom, in counseling sessions, or at home.
Read More about Rainbow of Emotional Regulation – A Social Emotional Learning Printable Infographic