Create a Coping Skills Toolkit to Use On The Go!

It’s wonderful having a home set up where you have a reset or safe space where your kids can use strategies and process their emotions. But what happens when we go out? Having coping strategies ready is just as important. Whether that’s at school, traveling, out with friends, before a medical appointment or at parties knowing what you can do outside of the comfort of your own home is really helpful.

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Getting Back on Track with Dr. Rebecca Jackson

When you’re expecting a baby or experiencing the first year of their life, there are books which tell you all the key development growth points to be looking out for and what comes next. We don’t talk about these as well as we could as our children go through childhood and adolescents. What emotions should they be feeling at what point? Is this behavior or outburst normal? 

As they grow and develop, one of the questions that gets asked is, “What does a healthy brain look like?” Our brain reacts to different pathways and it can affect our mood and responses. If we can understand the brain we can understand why we teach our children different skills and functions at key life stages and certain ages. Rebecca shares how if we can understand the brain then we can understand how to support our children’s next steps and if needed support getting them back on track. 

Mini Moments of Self-Care for Adults

Today’s question is, what can you do in 5 minutes or less that will make you feel happier, healthier or stronger? There are many moments in life when the day to day can feel stressful. Anyone can feel this. Whether you’re a working professional or a parent at home with kids in any stage of life. You may hit those moments and ask how can I take a moment for myself in the midst of the situation you face to give yourself some self care and revitalize yourself in those moments. Today’s episode covers some quick self care strategies to use during the day. These can make a difference to your day to empower and reset your mind as you go about your day. 

The topics I cover in this episode are:

Sensational Sensory Strategies with Dr. Varleisha

Have you ever considered the neuroscience behind how we self-regulate our emotions? How do these two work together? Some children may respond in fight or flight mode in some situations. But how does your child’s body and emotions respond and why in these specific moments?  What pathways are connecting in your child’s brain to cause certain reactions? Knowing your child and techniques to keep them calm can help moments like this - it’s more than just a behavior, but thinking about the child as a whole. The topics we cover in this episode are:

Understanding Your Highly Sensitive Child

Have you noticed your child doesn’t enjoy being at birthday parties? Do they struggle hearing loud noises? Does your child appear to not like the seams in their socks? Or have they felt overwhelmed by crowds and are very observant? Some people may read this list and think you’re describing the symptoms of Autism. They could be right but did you know it could also be the symptoms of high sensitivity? Today I speak with Maureen and how they have navigated learning about high sensitivity in her family. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Eight Fidgets for the Classroom

Eight Fidgets for the Classroom

Does your child feel the need to fidget a lot? Are they always moving and playing with toys while listening to you, their teachers and peers? Cognitive research suggests that an individual's fidgeting is related to how stimulated they are and if that’s you or a loved one then you’ll need to listen to this episode. I go through all the different types of Fidgets you can buy or make to alleviate this symptom, but remember Fidgets are tools, not toys!

The topics I cover in this episode are:

The Many Roles of a School Counselor: An Interview with Rachel Davis of Bright Futures Counseling

The Many Roles of a School Counselor:  An Interview with Rachel Davis of Bright Futures Counseling

Every school has a school counselor and there are so many reasons why a school counselor may work with any student at any stage of their educational career. But what do they do? From individual 1-1 support to whole class workshops, a school counselor is there to see students thrive and support them with strategies so they can love and enjoy learning. They give the tools the student needs for the challenge in front of them at that moment. Today I speak to school counselor, Rachel Davis. The topics we cover in this episode are:

Bullying in Middle School Through the Lens of a Middle School Diary and Memoir

Bullying in Middle School Through the Lens of a Middle School Diary and Memoir

Firstly I want to pre-warn you that my guest Meghan Joyce Tozer and I discuss some tough topics during this episode. Today’s podcast talks about sexual abuse and suicide. We encourage you to keep this in mind when listening to this podcast. Please be aware, especially if younger ears are listening, and please click play with care. 

Sexual assault and harassment, sadly happens in schools on a too regular basis, whether that’s happening peer to peer or even between teacher to student. We hope our children never have to experience this. Knowing how to parent our children to take ownership of their bodies, so they know how to say no is key. We discuss how to navigate through abuse, bullying, harassment so they can get help is just as vital.  

In this episode, I speak with Meghan Joyce Tozer, author of the critically acclaimed novel Night, Forgotten and her annotated middle school diary, UnSlut: A Diary and a Memoir, which she wrote under the pen name Emily Lindin. The topics we cover are:

How to Talk To Kids About Anything: An Interview with Dr. Robyn Silverman

How to Talk To Kids About Anything: An Interview with Dr. Robyn Silverman

All parents will face that moment when they have to have some of life’s hard conversations and speaking with your child to prepare them for what comes in life is key. We don’t really know when the right time is but in life we have to put the building blocks in place relationally with our children so that when that time comes, we can have proactive, sensitive and good conversations. 

Take a listen to this episode where I speak to Dr Robyn Silverman about how to talk to your kids about anything. 

The topics we cover are:

Your Turn: How to Be an Adult - An Interview with Julie Lythcott-Haims

Your Turn: How to Be an Adult - An Interview with Julie Lythcott-Haims

Do you ever sit and think about how you actually became an adult? Think of all the skills you have from tying your shoelaces to presenting a report at work. How did we learn these skills? … with lots and lots of practice! And for us to practice, our parents or caregivers have to ease the control a little to allow us to make mistakes. Imagine if your parents still followed you around all day waiting to tie your shoelaces or stand up in front of your colleagues to make that presentation themselves, life wouldn’t be very fulfilling would it! Take a listen to this episode where I speak to Julie Lythcott-Haims about how parenting is about letting go of control. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

© Encourage Play, LLC / Coping Skills for Kids 2021