As we began this series, we considered some of the problems with repressing emotions, rather than expressing them. Simply expressing emotions isn't the end goal, either, though; it's just a first and important foundational goal. The steps to helping our children develop greater emotional intelligence, or a higher EQ, begin with developing a vocabulary for emotions and learning to label one's own emotions. (We began looking at some play-based ways to do this in Part 2.) In Part 3, we co …
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Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, is a huge factor in a person's overall perceived quality of life and success in both professional and personal arenas. The groundwork for a person's emotional intelligence as an adult is laid during the childhood years and begins with the ability to label his or her emotions. A person's ability to identify one's own emotions starts with developing an emotional vocabulary, as we began to discuss in our previous post in this series. These concepts can be in …
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In this series on life skills needed as we recover from the pandemic and beyond, you've probably noticed that there's an overlap between executive function skills and emotional intelligence, which we started discussing in Part 1. Emotional intelligence can also be known as "EQ" and is, perhaps, even more significant when it comes to determining a person's quality of life than his or her "IQ." A person's EQ relates to his or her "ability to understand, use, and manage . . . emotio …
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Maybe even the concept of recovering from the pandemic sends a sense of panic through your veins - after all, none of us have ever done this before! Maybe it reminds you of that first sense of unsettledness that came when you realized that there was a toilet paper shortage. Or maybe you laughed it off, certain that the whole thing was a farce and things would be "back to normal" within a few days or weeks. Whatever your initial thoughts or reactions to the pandemic, you're probably now …
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Regardless of how impacted you have been or your family has been by the pandemic, there's probably been a measure of trauma your children have experienced as a result. And try as you might, you won't always be able to protect them from adverse experiences. But what you can do is help equip them to handle these things. In another series, we discussed how strengthening executive skills can play a role. Now in this one, we've looked at ways to particularly deal with trauma, starting with …
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Recovering from the various ways that the pandemic has affected your family - and your children, in particular - won't happen overnight. But it will be more likely to happen when you realize that it's been a traumatic time and take the kinds of steps that have been shown to help children recover from adverse experiences. This will start with naming and discussing difficult emotions (see Part 1) and will absolutely require quality time and intentional conversations with you as a parent. …
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In our instant-gratifcation-driven society, we like quick fixes, don't we? If only that "Easy Button" from Staples really did something! But there is no magic wand, nothing you can put in your Amazon cart, no instant download for recovering from trauma. Whether it's the after-effects of the pandemic or any other adverse childhood experience, these things all take one thing we often cringe to consider: time. No matter how high-tech or efficient we are, time is the one resource we cannot …
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There are many voices out there discussing and suggesting ways that governments and society at large should respond to COVID-19. There are others offering advice for physically recovering from the virus if you have had it. But that's not the topic of this series. Whether or not your family or your child has been directly affected by the virus itself, and regardless of your political affiliations or opinions on how well it has been handled or what precautions and restrictions you take o …
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Even if as an outsider to our planet, you were to look through the headlines of the past year, it probably wouldn't take you long to realize that it's been a traumatic one for many. Since you aren't an outsider, of course, you've likely not only observed the events of the past year from an insider perspective, you've felt their impact as well. Understanding How Trauma Affects Children Traumatic experiences of all kinds (including the events we've all experienced this past …
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I get it; I do. It seems everyone is blaming every kind of problem that they have on Covid. As if it really impacts their ability to brush their teeth or remember an appointment. But in all the jokes, let's not forget that it really has been a tough 21 months, and for some, the hard parts are not over. How has Covid impacted your life and your emotions? Just think: your children have probably been impacted even more significantly by the disruptions, changes, losses, unknowns, and overa …
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