Island Parent Fall 2023
Vancouver Island’s Parenting Resource for 35 Years: Out & About in Nature: Rain or Shine • The Cool of Volunteering at School • Lessons from a Little Kid • Setting Kids Up for Success at School • Be Gentle with Yourself • Tweens & Teens
Vancouver Island’s Parenting Resource for 35 Years: Out & About in Nature: Rain or Shine • The Cool of Volunteering at School • Lessons from a Little Kid • Setting Kids Up for Success at School • Be Gentle with Yourself • Tweens & Teens
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Games. Emotion charades and other activities<br />
derived from theatre sports can help your<br />
child develop and strengthen their ability to<br />
read facial expressions and body language.<br />
A lot of kids have difficulty with tone and<br />
emphasis. They might repeat something funny<br />
a TV character says and not understand why<br />
their classmate finds it hurtful (it might be<br />
said with a sarcastic tone). You can make a<br />
game of saying the same sentence in different<br />
ways and trying to guess the speaker’s intent<br />
or emotion. For example, “What are you doing?”<br />
vs “What are you doing?” communicate<br />
different messages.<br />
Calming Strategies<br />
Learning and practicing calming techniques<br />
(mindful breathing, counting, visualization,<br />
positive self-talk) helps us be rational and<br />
receptive instead of reactive. You can help<br />
your child to determine which strategies are<br />
most useful for them and encourage them to<br />
practice when you see they are agitated.<br />
Acknowledge Mistakes… and Grow<br />
When conflict occurs, it’s important to<br />
work through it so that everyone can move<br />
forward peacefully. We can’t change what<br />
happened, but we can decide to learn and<br />
make different choices in the future. To do<br />
this we need to acknowledge our own part in<br />
conflict.<br />
No one wants to believe their child is capable<br />
of causing hurt to another, but it happens<br />
every day. Not because they are “bad,”<br />
but because they are learning. If your child is<br />
involved in a conflict, take time to hear the<br />
whole story of what transpired. Encourage<br />
them to own their actions and be part of a<br />
solution. Just as in any new subject, they are<br />
going to make mistakes and that’s when they<br />
need our support the most—to help them<br />
grow positively from a negative experience.<br />
Schools are beginning to teach emotional<br />
and social skills more explicitly within an<br />
evolving curriculum, but developing empathy,<br />
emotional awareness, self-regulation, and<br />
problem-solving skills starts with parents.<br />
They watch us for cues, and if we negotiate<br />
our own conflicts constructively this goes a<br />
long way to helping them get through the trials<br />
and tribulations of Tweenhood.<br />
Kelly McQuillan is a writer,<br />
musician, teacher and fledgling<br />
mother living in Comox.<br />
kellymcquillanwriter.<br />
weebly.com, music teacher:<br />
kellymcquillan.com.<br />
150 Commercial St<br />
Nanaimo, British Columbia<br />
250.754.1750<br />
NanaimoArtGallery.ca<br />
Pro-D Day, Spring and<br />
Summer Camps<br />
Drop-in and Immersive<br />
Programs for Teens<br />
School Programs<br />
Classes and Workshops<br />
for All Ages<br />
Help protect the groundwater rdn.bc.ca/wellsmart we share<br />
wellSMART<br />
Go to our website to<br />
learn all about...<br />
Drought Management<br />
Water Testing & Treatment<br />
Maintenance & Operation<br />
Rebates<br />
Plus check out our wellSMART workshops<br />
October 26, 6-8 p.m. Gabriola Aggi Hall,<br />
November 1, <strong>2023</strong> from 6-8 p.m. at the Cavalotti Hall<br />
rdn.bc.ca/wellsmart<br />
<strong>Island</strong><strong>Parent</strong>.ca<br />
<strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2023</strong> 37