Samantha Yarde

teacher • blogger • facilitator • photographer

Menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
    • Samantha
    • My Passion (Coming Soon!)
    • My Blog
  • Blog
    • Articles
      • Early Childhood
        • What is ECD?
        • Attachment Styles
        • Becoming an ECE
        • The Day I Met Dr. Bruce Perry
        • Tips for Teachers Going Back to Work
        • 5 Tips For Kick-Starting At-Home Learning
        • Simple Ways to Help Kids Cope with & Manage Stress
        • 7 Ways to Encourage Kids to Eat their Veggies
        • Flow is Happiness & Children’s Play
        • Just Playing
        • Kid-friendly Superfoods for Health and Immunity (SMOOV Superfood Blends)
        • Kid-friendly Superfoods for that Sweet Tooth (SMOOV Superfood Blends)
      • Self-Regulation
        • What is Self-Regulation?
        • Stress & Stressors
        • How I Got Through Some of My Lowest Days in Lockdown
        • Noticing a Shift in My Energy and Tension
        • How to Breathe! To Activate the Calm Response in Your Body
      • Health & Lifestyle
        • Brain-Gut Connection
        • Self-Care is Never Selfish
        • My Wellness Kit
        • Self-Care Begins With You
        • Let’s Talk Adaptogens!
        • 5 Lessons 2020 Has Taught Me
        • 5 Ways to Boost Your Immune System
        • 7 Ways to Practice Mindful Eating
        • Mindfulness & Meditation. What’s the Difference?
        • 9 Different Kinds of Hunger
        • A Personal Experience with Body Healing Modalities
    • Notebook
      • Early Childhood
        • The Science of Early Childhood Development
        • 3 Keys to Help Your Child Cope During the COVID-19 Pandemic
        • A Conversation on Trauma and its Impact on Brain Development
      • Self-Regulation
        • The Vagus Nerve and 5 Ways to Tone It
        • Five Stress Healing Solutions
        • Deborah Dana: Befriending Your Nervous System
      • Health & Lifestyle
        • Organika Webinars>
          • Gut Health 101
          • Strengthening Your Immune System
          • Sleep & Stress Management
          • Your Mental Health Matters: Extra Brain-Love During Times of Stress
          • Beyond Skin Deep: Holistic Health for Glowing Skin
          • Your Hormones: Finding Balance for the Modern-Day Woman
        • Gut Health with Dr. Mary Pardeep>
          • Introduction to Gut Health
          • How Digestion Works
          • What Healthy Poop Looks & Smells Like
          • The Brain-Gut Connection
          • Mindful Eating (Where Digestion Begins)
        • Race & Social Justice>
          • Unwinding Prejudice with Evelyn Carter>
            • Identity & Bias (Part 1)
            • Identifying Implicit Attitude (Part 2)
            • The Impact of Bias (Part 3)
            • Techniques for Reducing Bias (Part 4)
            • Unwinding Prejudice: Structured Equality (Part 5)
          • Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence
          • Compassion in Action: Mindfulness for a Just Society
        • The Science of Yoga
        • The Foundation of Mindfulness Practice
        • Establishing a Daily Mindfulness Practice
        • Meditation Tools & Tips
        • Eating Mindfully
        • How to Sleep for Peak Mental Performance
        • A Gratitude Exercise
        • 10 Ways to De-Stress Your Life
        • Let’s Talk About… Rejection
    • Bloganuary
  • Resources
    • Early Childhood
    • Self-Regulation
    • Health & Lifestyle
  • Contact

3 Keys to Help Your Child Cope During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Photo by August de Richelieu

Presented by Elizabeth Sautter & Dr. Rebecca Branstetter

Tags: mindset, parenting, social-emotional, tips

Resource: Free Webinar & PDFs

What to DO when your child is struggling

  • Possible struggles/challenges:
    • Motivation issues
    • Emotional outbursts
    • Withdrawals
    • Frustration

Change in Mindset #1

  • My child is giving me a hard time –> My child is HAVING a hard time
    • Shifts the energy
    • Challenges can be amplified or popping up because of current circumstances
Photo by Wikipedia

The Iceberg Theory

  • Top (Overt Behaviour): withdrawn, sadness, anxiety, anger
  • Below: dysregulation, communication challenges, executive functioning challenges
    • Always make sure to check below the water line
    • We need to check our lenses
    • “Kids do well if they can.” – Ross Greene
    • Parents do well if they can.
    • Children (and adults) thrive with structure and predictable routines
      • Reduces anxiety
      • Helps to get ready for what’s expected
      • Creates a sense of normalcy in an unusual  time
      • Re-structure your routines as situations change

Survival Kit Tip #1: Build out a family schedule and collaborate with your child when it’s not working

  • Family’s School Schedule
    • A collaboration tool
    • Allows for collaborative reflection on what worked or didn’t work
    • Helps to build social-emotional skills
    • Kids will listen if they feel heard
  • Daily Schedule for a Balanced Mind and Body
    • Healthy Mind Platter (Dr. Daniel Siegel)

What to SAY when your child is shutting down or acting out

Change in Mindset #2

  • My child is choosing to act out, withdraw or resist my parenting strategies –> A child’s basic needs must be met before they are able to achieve high level needs/thinking
    • “Invisible” basic needs such as connection and safety are just as critical for learning as primary needs like food and water

Frontal Lobe vs. Brain Stem

  • The Rational Brain (frontal lobe): thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, self-control, self-regulation
  • The Reactive Brain (brain stem): fight, flight, freeze, faint, survival mode
    • The brain doesn’t know the difference between types of stressors
    • When your child is in “reactive brain” their brain is not available for learning
    • When YOU are in “reactive brain” your brain is not available for teaching effectively
    • The reality is, problem-solving cannot happen until both you and your child’s brains are out of “reactive brain”
    • You need to calm your nervous system before you can problem-solve

“When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it’s our job to share our calm. Not join their chaos.” – L. R. Knost  

Survival Kit Tip #2: Don’t join the chaos, co-regulate to calm the cortisol

  • Words that Work for Co-Regulation
    • Scripts for when your child is in “reactive brain”
    • Helps to shift lens and dynamic
    • Leaning in with empathy helps to teach self-regulation skills and empathy

What to TEACH your child to foster long-term social-emotional skills

Change in Mindset #3

Photo by Pxfuel
  • Social-emotional learning is an ADD ON. I do not have time or skills to teach my child –> Social-emotional learning is an ADD IN to your everyday life
    • One of the most powerful tools for social-emotional learning is teaching your child mindfulness
    • “Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience, moment to moment.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

Three Key Benefits of Mindfulness for Children and Teens

  1. Better attention and learning skills
  2. Improved social, emotional, and behavioural skills
  3. More resilient

Survival Kit Tip #3: Sprinkle in mindful activities throughout your day

  • Mindfulness Resources to Teach Your Child
  • The Benefits of Mindfulness Practice
  • Books to Read to Kids
  • Apps for Kids

YOU are enough. You are a GREAT parent. You are doing the BEST you can. 


More from Elizabeth Sautter & Dr. Rebecca Branstetter
  • Link
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

WEBSITE DISCLAIMER

This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.

Thank you for sharing!

  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...
Go to mobile version
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: