I believe people can tell when we are experiencing emotions - they can feel it - especially our children. During my ‘3 Habits of Resilient Families’ presentation I ask parents: Have you ever had your child sense something is wrong and ask you, ‘how you...
As the last two weeks of May approach parents and their children may become stressed as they anticipate the mandatory standardized testing called EQAO. When we think of tests we think ‘study’. The EQAO is not that kind of ‘test’. It’s based on what students have...
Are you dreaming about warmer spring days and pretty flowers? I'm in the mood for sunshine as I'm sure most of us are. Even though sun would be nice I have learned not to let my mood or happiness be determined by something that is not...
As parents and educators we encourage children to keep going, put in the effort, stay determined - all great words of advice. We feel happy and proud when children want to try new activities, new skills and new ways of doing things. However,...
What are you feeling? A question guaranteed to make a room full of adults squirm. When you think about sharing your emotions right now, would you prefer to leave the conversation or conveniently find something else to do? Maybe it’s because you don’t know how you are...
Sometimes children’s behaviour is a mystery. They know what they are doing isn’t ok and they do it anyway. As parents/educators, we often judge the behaviour as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Those judgments dictate our response - when they are ‘good’ the child receives praise when they...
In each of my student presentations, I always ask the question ‘Who prefers alone time when they are experiencing tough emotions?’ The majority of hands in the room shoot up. I then ask if anyone has ever had someone they care about say, ‘I don’t want...
Everywhere we look we see reasons why being respectful, compassionate and responsible is so important. Whether it’s in our home, our children’s school, the office, on social media or in our everyday activities, the impact of our behaviour not only affects the lives and wellbeing...
The new school year is full of excitement and challenges. Young people worry about fitting in, liking their teachers, new classes and getting good grades. Not only do we as parents have the same worries, we also worry about managing lunches, homework, extracurricular activities, after school...
I speak to a lot of parents and I often hear them say, ‘I don’t understand why my child behaves the way they do.’ Parents are looking for strategies that will help bring some control back into their home. Recently a parent shared her frustration about...
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