Posts tagged: Relationships

Wonder Walls

Asking “why?” is stereotypical behavior for two-year-olds. Parents and caregivers lament the seemingly incessant…

Welcoming Morning with Too Early

As infants and toddlers, all my kids were night owls. They stayed up late checking out the world around them and then…

A NeuroSpicy Spiritual Practice for Visit Anxiety

For some neurodivergent children, not knowing what to expect when visiting others outside the family home can be…

A NeuroSpicy Mealtime Spiritual Practice

Meals are culturally and historically a time for nourishment and connection with others. For some neurodivergent…

A NeuroSpicy Spiritual Practice for Easing Separations

Separating from a loved one can be particularly distressing for neurodivergent children. They may feel unsafe or…

Affirming Children

Saying something positive to a child seems easy. We tell kids, “you’re amazing!” and exclaim “That’s the best…

Looney Tunes Spirituality

Daffy Duck and Porky Pig are terrible at almost everything they try to do. They let their house fall apart, set Farmer…

Navigating Change with Ten Beautiful Things

Change can be both exciting and scary, and unwanted changes can be particularly stressful. Figuring out how to cope…

Exploring Empathy with Who Is My Neighbor?

In a polarized world where people call each other names and gloat over another’s misfortune, children can be…

Exploring Captain America: Brave New World

One of the things that frustrates my younger children is living in their older siblings' shadows. Teachers and coaches…

Exploring Body Image with Big

The National Organization for Women reports that more than half of all elementary age girls are worried about being…

Learning about Love

In children’s shows and movies, love is often portrayed as a pretty simple emotion. It’s a warm, fuzzy feeling…

Grieving with Cape

The loss of a loved one can be devastating for a child. They may feel anxious and overwhelmed, as well as confused by…

When Love Hurts

Stores filled with candy hearts, cutesy cards, and cuddly stuffed animals proclaim Valentine’s Day is fast…

Dog Man Spirituality

Dog Man and his arch-nemesis Petey the Cat are stuck in a cycle of fighting with each other until Petey creates a…

Helping Kids Learn Civility

“I hate them!” “That idea is so stupid!” “Who do they think they are, saying things like that?!” In a…

Managing Holiday Emotions

“But mom,” wailed my daughter, “I wanted to put the glitter stars on the tree.” She collapses onto the sofa and…

Teaching Kids the Science of Gifting

My children delight in finding gifts to give extended family members. When their great aunt adored camel figurines,…

Stories for Cooking Together

The winter holidays offer many opportunities for families to cook together. What might sometimes seem like drudgery -…

Cooking Together as a Spiritual Practice

Children (and adults) often think first about food when they hear the word ‘Thanksgiving’. Turkey roasted,…

Being a Good Neighbor

“Hey, mom, should I do the porch next door too?” asked my eldest. We were shoveling snow around our house after…

Learning about Relationships with The Wild Robot

Based on an award-winning children’s book by Peter Brown, Dreamwork’s The Wild Robot is a beautifully animated…

Exploring Diversity with The Only Way to Make Bread

Bread is a diet staple. It comes in many forms, from rye loaves and buttermilk biscuits to focaccia and tortillas.…

Building Connections through Magical Gifts

As children head back to school, anxieties about relationships rise. Some wonder whether friends from last year will…

Practicing Hopefulness

Hopefulness is more than just a spiritual virtue and positive emotional state. Psychologists also view it as a…

Practicing Kindness

Kindness is more than just a feeling. It’s a way of being in the world that requires paying close attention to other…

Exploring Self Image with What in the World is Wrong with Gisbert?

With the 2024 Summer Games about to kick off in Paris, children and adults are hyper-aware of how athletes look and…

Practicing Gratitude

Gratitude may seem like a natural attitude, but studies show it is primarily a skill that children learn from others.…

Learning about Self & Others with The Garfield Movie

We often wonder what pets are thinking and feeling, especially when they do something that seems odd or silly. A cat…

Imagining Wellbeing with IF

Studies show that around 65% of children develop imaginary friends (IFs) before they are seven. These sometimes quite…

Helping Kids Feel Important

“You never listen to me!” complained my nine-year-old. She was trying to tell me about the antics of some of the…

Everyday Rituals

When we think of rituals, we often recall major life or religious events like weddings, funerals, baptisms, bar…

Three Components of Hope

My daughter’s third grade teacher had a unique way of addressing her students when they felt discouraged. She would…

Children’s Resistance to Spirituality

Children, like adults, vary in their attraction to spirituality. Some revel in many different kinds of experiences,…

Different Kinds of Curiosity

My eldest child likes to figure out how things work. When she was three, she shocked our neighbor by explaining the…

Kids’ Imaginations

When my children were young, we played all kinds of imaginative games. Sometimes we took our cues from stories we had…

Easter Around the World

Easter, like many holidays, is both a religious and cultural event. Some families focus on the Christian aspect, some…

Telling Your Child You’re Seriously Ill

After weeks of endless (and often unkind) speculation, we now know: Princess Kate has cancer. She explains that she and…

Spiritual Leadership with Kung Fu Panda 4

The Kung Fu Panda movies are some of my kids' favorites. Together, we have watched Po grow from a noodle maker into a…

Spiritual Care with Seriously Ill Children

When a friend’s daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, everyone around them was shocked and dismayed. We wondered how…

Help Kids Be Relational Thermostats

“He made me feel bad!” wailed my son after telling me how a friend chose a different playmate at recess. “He…

Valentine Spirituality

Every year, my kids’ school does a Valentine fundraiser. Parents and grandparents can purchase pink and red…

Living Black History Projects

It’s Black History Month once again in the U.S., when teachers and group leaders plan lessons celebrating African…

Fridge Spirituality

My refrigerator is covered in activity schedules, a recycling calendar, family photos, and children’s art. Anyone…

Dreaming about Racial Equity with Kids

During the Black Lives Matter protests of 2021, my home city (Richmond, VA) struggled with the legacy of several…

Resolve to Learn Together

People of all ages make personal New Year’s resolutions. Adults resolve to be more patient, develop an exercise…

Santa Spirituality

For many families, Christmas is - in whole or in part - a cultural rather than a religious holiday. And at the center…

Dreaming with Wonka

When my eldest was two, she asked if there would be “little meats” for Christmas. I was puzzled and tried…

Making Religious Meaning with Journey to Bethlehem

During the month of December, many Christian families retell the biblical Christmas story as part of their holiday…

Exploring Family Relationships with Trolls Band Together

Movies and commercials often highlight traditional families and focus on the joys of being together. But real families…

Practicing Thanks-Giving

“Let’s go around the room and say something we’re thankful for,” says the teacher. “I’m thankful for apple…

Kindness Trees

“No, no, no!” said the preschool teacher as she rushed over to a child threatening to hit a playmate. “It’s not…

Managing Misbehavior with Conscious Discipline

I’m watching a group of children prepare to act out a spiritual story. One child insists on taking the lead role, and…

Exploring Change with Where is Home, Daddy Bear?

My family moved when I was a child. For the first 6 months, I refused to call the new house ‘home’. I did not want…

Exploring Community with The Eras Tour Movie

Moviegoers are sporting a special look this fall. Glittery shirts and jackets. Purple jerseys with the number 13 on the…

Kindness Projects

My children's elementary school had a student committee that planned service projects for every grade. Kids from…

Acknowledging Hurt & Making Amends

Yom Kippur, the annual Jewish Day of Atonement, begins the evening of Sunday, September 24. It is a time for deep…

How Curiosity Enhances Relationships

My daughter and her best friend met in 2nd grade. Their first weeks together were spent asking each other questions:…

Helping Children Find Their Anchors

As we were preparing to move from one state to another, my four year old fell apart. “Where’s my train, my bunny,…

Community-Building

School buses are back on the streets and pumpkin spice lattes have returned to coffee shops. Children’s backpacks are…

Making Kindness a Goal

My social media feeds have been flooded with ‘first day of school’ photos. Children stand holding signs proclaiming…

Seeing Differences through Eyes that Speak to the Stars

Children are often curious about differences. They wonder why someone has red hair instead of brown like them, or…

Exploring Diversity & Community with Luli and the Language of Tea

Children from several nations gather in a playroom while their parents learn English as a Second Language next door.…

Movement Meditation: Empathy

Children don’t always get along. Like adults, they get angry with siblings and friends. They feel resentment and…

Movement Meditation: Awareness

Being aware of one’s surroundings can be an important safety practice. We teach children to pay attention when…

Exploring The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess

Fairy tales can play a powerful role in children’s lives. Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen has morphed into…

Exploring Every Little Kindness with Kids

Sometimes a story doesn’t need words to be powerful. That’s the case with Marta Bartolj’s Every Little Kindness,…

Movement Meditation: Empowerment

Being a small person in a big world can be overwhelming at times. Children may feel overshadowed by the adults around…

Exploring Values with The Good for Nothing Tree

I have a peach tree in my front yard. Some years, there are lots of peaches and we scramble to pick our share before…

Exploring Elemental with Kids

A few days ago, one of my children wanted breakfast for dinner, while another preferred Indian. The first argued that…

Not-So-Random Acts of Kindness

Walking through the farmer’s market last weekend, I overheard a conversation between a coffee vendor and a customer.…

Building a Strong Image of Children

Sometimes when we talk about children, we focus on what kids can’t do: they can’t walk yet, or they can’t reach…

Connecting with Nature through Apple and Magnolia

One summer, my kids and I planted a small garden. While our cucumbers and zucchini did well, our tomato plants…

Exploring Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with Kids

Marvel’s newest release, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, focuses on Rocket’s origin story as Groot, Mantis, Drax,…

Generational Spirituality

Spirituality isn’t just a social, emotional, or cultural aspect of life. It’s also biological, passed from…

Language that Builds Community

“This is a story for Amelia,“ announced the adult leading storytime. “It’s a story for Marcus, and a story for…

Celebrating Eid al Fitr

After 30 days of fasting, Muslim worldwide mark the end of Ramadan with Eid al Fitr, literally a festival of breaking…

Exploring Ramadan

Six years ago, I visited Istanbul with two of my children. We were there during Ramadan, which meant we observed…

Rihanna Spirituality

Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII performance is trending on social media. Several reviewers place it in their all-time top…

Guided Meditation on Friendship

For children, Valentine’s Day is more about friendship than romance. They’re generally eager to exchange valentine…

Promoting Restorative Justice

My son’s Montessori school had a ‘peace table’ where children could go to work out disagreements. On it were a…

Helping Kids Have a ‘Happy’ New Year

“10…9…8…7...6…5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!” My family celebrated the start of 2023 with sparkling…

Taylor Swift Spirituality

With her latest album sweeping the top 10 slots on Billboard’s Top 100 - a first for any artist - Taylor Swift is…

Diwali Spirituality

As fall crops are harvested and days grow shorter, many cultures and religions acknowledge the season with celebrations…

Getting to Know Children Better

When marketers want to learn about people, they collect data about them. They then use that information to improve how…

Reflecting on Lyle, Lyle Crocodile with Kids

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile offers several big songs and dance scenes that will engage and excite young moviegoers. But…

Creating A Culture Of Caring

In 3rd and 4th grade, I participated in an afterschool Kids Club organized by a neighborhood grandmother. I would walk…

Reexamining Humility as a Spiritual Virtue

Growing up, I was frequently told that good girls should be humble. I was expected to hide my intelligence and avoid…

Talking about the Queen’s Funeral & Rituals after Death

Less than 24 hours after Queen Elizabeth’s death, media outlets were carrying articles about ‘what to expect’ as…

Exploring Power & Perseverance with Minions: The Rise of Gru

The new Minions movie has much of the silliness you expect from the Despicable Me franchise. We watch as young Gru…

Exploring Lightyear with Children

As long time fans of Toy Story, my children were excited to learn Buzz’s backstory. They watched as Buzz and Alesha…

Exploring Magic Candies with Children

Imagine a bag of candies with the power to bring your sofa to life and give voice to falling leaves. Would you want to…

Building Rapport

As Covid-19 transmission risks soar again, concerns about the effects of masking and social distancing on relationships…

Reading Simon and the Big, Bad, Angry Beasts

Disney’s popular movie, Turning Red, has called attention to how children struggle with big emotions, especially…

Modeling Gratitude

“Thank you.” Two simple words we teach children when they’re small and hope they will use often. Giving thanks…

Imaginative Play & Spirituality

“Do you have a minute?” asked my daughter’s preschool teacher. “Of course,” I replied, “Is something…

Books for Earth Day

Every year on April 22, more than a billion people take time to reflect on the earth and its importance for human…

Being Gender Inclusive

I started transgressing gender norms with my children when they were babies. I dressed them in colors and styles…

Sharing Personal Spiritual Practices

Children’s group leaders often wonder how much to share about their personal lives with young people. We…

Spiritual ‘projects’ with Operation Sisterhood

Bo’s summer plans completely change when her mother moves into a Harlem brownstone with her fiance and another…

Spiritual Storytelling with The Last Cuentista

For a book lover like me, one bedtime story often turned into two or three as I tucked my young children in. But I…

Helping Children Understand Love

I have a love/hate relationship with Valentine’s Day. It's an opportunity to celebrate relationships with friends and…

Spiritual Play with Bluey

My sisters and I often engaged in imaginative play when we were growing up. We came up with various pretend situations,…

Exploring Where Wonder Grows

My dad collected rocks his whole life. He particularly liked geodes: rocks that - when broken open - contained a hidden…

Digital Spirituality with Young Children

A friend posts a snapshot of her three year old daughter on social media. Sonia* has her head bent over her mom’s…

Spiritual Reflection with Encanto

Encanto, Disney’s newest animated feature, tells the story of an extraordinary family. Once upon a time, Abuela…

Expressing Gratitude

An American celebration of Thanksgiving generally involves liberal helpings of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and…

Developing Spiritual Persistence

I am often so excited when I begin a new spiritual practice, I expect to see immediate benefits. In my enthusiasm, I…

Empathy Maps

Getting to know the children with whom we work is essential. We learn their names and perhaps ask about their favorite…

Gender and Sexual Diversity Inclusion

My daughter returned from her third grade ‘Meet the Teacher’ with news she’d heard through friends: a boy in her…

Back to the ‘Kinda’ Familiar

As a new school year begins, many organizations are planning to welcome children back to in-person programs. But…

Social Emotional Learning at Home

My second child would become easily overwhelmed as a toddler. If we were shopping at the mall, she would start crying…

Talking with Kids Under 10

Talking with children seems simple enough, but effective communication is actually more complicated than we think. Our…

Spiritual Counseling

For many children, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a time of trauma, grief, and loss. Even if children have come through…

Identity Portraits

Valuing who we are and respecting others’ identities are crucial to spiritual wellbeing. Every child wants to be seen…

Trust and Promises

As I left the gym, I overheard a mother tell her young son, “We need to get home right now and get snacks together…

Learning to Forgive

Sibling squabbles were a daily part of life when my children were preschoolers. They erupted when one child would steal…

Spiritual Connectedness

One of my favorite preschool parenting moments was watching my children chase fireflies around our backyard on a summer…

Self-Esteem vs. Narcissism

In Wonder Woman 1984, young Diana, Amazon princess of Themyscira, desperately wants to win a competition. She is in the…

Using Virtual Rooms to Strengthen Community

Over the past year, teachers, therapists, librarians, and others have created virtual rooms with bitmoji to engage…

Spiritually Rich Virtual Interactions

As we slowly move back to regular in-person contact, part of a new normal will likely include virtual presence for many…

Young Children and Connectedness

The other day, my tween son and I were talking and laughing as we sorted through piles of nursery artwork I have stored…

Relationships as Roots

Dr. Eugene Roehlkepartain has noticed that when adults say relationships with kids matter, they really mean parents…

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