Exploring Bad Days with Everything Will Be OK
Some days are just yucky. Things happen that children can’t control and don’t like. They might be little things,…
MoreSome days are just yucky. Things happen that children can’t control and don’t like. They might be little things,…
MoreChildren have long loved Ariel, the star of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, because of her determination to live her…
MoreFears are a part of childhood. Whether it’s worries about monsters under the bed, big dogs, loud noises, or parents…
MoreAs my eldest child ran off the soccer field after another bruising loss, I prepared to console her and her teammates. I…
MoreSpirituality isn’t just a social, emotional, or cultural aspect of life. It’s also biological, passed from…
MoreI keep a small stone on my desk with the word ‘breathe’ painted on it. It’s a reminder to slow down, find my…
MoreOne of my pet peeves with curricula for children’s programs is how teacher-directed most of the activities are. The…
MoreAs a preschooler, my daughter loved Don and Audrey Wood’s The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big…
MoreFor children, Valentine’s Day is more about friendship than romance. They’re generally eager to exchange valentine…
MoreMy nine month old daughter cowered in my arms. She clearly didn’t want to interact with the person who had just…
More“Do they bite?” asked Marcus* when we spotted a family of mule deer during a camping trip. Our group was excited…
More“10…9…8…7...6…5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!” My family celebrated the start of 2023 with sparkling…
MoreSeven candles stand tall in a kinara, ready for lighting. Their number and colors (red, black, and green) suggest this…
MoreI love holiday lights! Strings of colored bulbs wrapped around trees, icicle lights hanging from rooftops and fences, a…
MoreHow do you create a Black Panther sequel without the Black Panther? Chadwick Boseman’s death made it difficult for my…
MoreWith her latest album sweeping the top 10 slots on Billboard’s Top 100 - a first for any artist - Taylor Swift is…
More“Mom, I saw some people asking for money by the off ramp. They didn’t have any coats and it’s pretty cold…
MoreWhen marketers want to learn about people, they collect data about them. They then use that information to improve how…
More“But mom, you don’t understand! Practice ran over and now the internet is down and I can’t get to the language…
More“Can’t I just be 10 minutes late?” pleaded my daughter. We were driving to her Brownie troop meeting and I could…
MoreSummer can often be a time of celebrations and reunions as family members and friends travel to see one another. In Kat…
MoreMy family rarely misses a Marvel movie, and the new Thor: Love and Thunder is no exception. In his typical oblivious…
MoreTaking chances is risky. Some children can’t wait to explore the unknown. Others prefer familiar structures and…
MoreSam and TJ have learned a lot about ‘Dead Straight Cisgender White Men’ in history. So when they have to research a…
More“You’re so smart!” These three words come easily to mind when children do or say something that demonstrates…
MoreIt’s Gay Pride Month, and families of all sorts are celebrating diversity. Colorful rainbow flags attract…
MoreAs the regular school year draws to a close, many extracurricular programs also pause for the summer. Teachers and…
MoreSetting small spiritual goals each day is one way that children can take responsibility for their own moral and ethical…
MoreA few years ago, I taught a child who struggled with managing his emotions in group settings. He was unhappy about his…
MorePurpose is an important aspect of a healthy spiritual life. Children have hopes and dreams. They want to make a…
MoreI started transgressing gender norms with my children when they were babies. I dressed them in colors and styles…
MoreIn their latest book, author A.J. Sass creates a neurodivergent main character (Ellen) who is negotiating changes in…
MoreWith the calendar shift from February to March, we’ve gone from remembering Black history to lifting up women and…
MoreBo’s summer plans completely change when her mother moves into a Harlem brownstone with her fiance and another…
MoreSorting through a box of old school papers, I found a story one of my children wrote in 2nd grade. Her teacher had…
MoreChildren’s spiritual well-being depends, in part, on strong self-esteem. They need to see themselves as individuals…
MoreExamen is a reflective practice that originated in the 15th century. It’s purpose is to help children and adults…
MoreWhen my oldest child was 4, he begged to have his face painted as Spiderman. But when he saw his new face in the…
More“He has a doll?!” my mother exclaimed, disapproval ringing in her words. She couldn’t believe I would let my…
MoreAn American celebration of Thanksgiving generally involves liberal helpings of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and…
MoreMy daughter came home talking about a new girl in her class. Since being the new kid can be challenging, I want my…
MoreMy daughter returned from her third grade ‘Meet the Teacher’ with news she’d heard through friends: a boy in her…
More“Go ask your teacher for help,” I told my daughter again. For a whole grading period, she had been struggling with…
MoreA common way to check whether children have understood something is to give a test. But even in schools, teachers are…
MoreValuing who we are and respecting others’ identities are crucial to spiritual wellbeing. Every child wants to be seen…
MoreAs I left the gym, I overheard a mother tell her young son, “We need to get home right now and get snacks together…
MoreHearing others’ stories and telling one’s own is a powerful way for children to connect spiritually. Personal…
MoreOne of my favorite preschool parenting moments was watching my children chase fireflies around our backyard on a summer…
MoreLearning to make good decisions is an essential spiritual skill. Becoming a self-reflective person requires children to…
MoreThroughout the pandemic, news reports and magazine articles have encouraged us to think deeply about developing mental…
More“But mom,” my eldest complained, “why do I have to go to church school? They never talk about anything…
MoreIn Wonder Woman 1984, young Diana, Amazon princess of Themyscira, desperately wants to win a competition. She is in the…
MoreParents talk with young children about the past a lot. We remind them of the last time they saw their cousins. We…
MoreWhen it comes to deciding what information about spirituality to trust and what to doubt, children acquire useful…
MoreMy family was doing our regular post-school, pre-dinner thing when the radio paused its scheduled programming to…
MoreMany children are growing up in families that have ties to multiple spiritual traditions. In a household where one…
More“Where are all my helpers? It’s time to clean up our room for storytime.” Many adults use the title 'helper'…
MoreDr. Eugene Roehlkepartain has noticed that when adults say relationships with kids matter, they really mean parents…
MorePixar movies are beloved by both children and adults for their creative stories, well-developed characters, and…
MoreMy children love to read. From a young age, they knew that I would rarely deny their request to buy a book that caught…
MoreForming an identity is a complicated task. The arts provide space to create and play with different identities.…
MoreSome children develop imaginary friends to keep them company. Others describe spiritual experiences that feature…
MoreWhen parents name a child, they do so with high hopes that the name will somehow influence who that child becomes. If…
More