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Two moms team up to teach daughters conflict resolution
Robert Fulghum famously said, "All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten." Two years after they graduated from kindergarten these girls expanded upon "Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody," thanks to their mothers joining forces to teach some conflict...
See yourself in the courtesy kids offer
Smile whenever you see courtesy in a child you're close to. You are a walking, talking, indelible image of how to make your corner of the world a better place. Your courtesy efforts multiply because they are doing what you do. Family members were happy to share these...
A single focused conversation made a difference
Robert Logan, guest blogger, shares a conversation he had when we were foster parents. One highlight I remember from my time as a foster parent was a particular conversation-- brief but meaningful. Heather (not her real name, and not pictured here) was a 14-year-old...
A single focused conversation made a difference
Robert Logan, guest blogger, shares a conversation he had when we were foster parents. One highlight I remember from my time as a foster parent was a particular conversation-- brief but meaningful. Heather (not her real name, and not pictured here) was a 14-year-old...
Are you out of the loop about childhood spirituality?
What is child-centered spirituality and why is it important? Here's the short answer and a story from someone who is in the loop with it. What is child-centered spirituality? It is listening to and nurturing what is already inside a child's soul. The way to encourage...
Finding their own way back to God
Mitali Perkins, award-winning author of books for young readers, shares a heartbreaking adolescent experience and losing her way spiritually: "I was raised in a Hindu home, where Dad taught his children that God was a divine spirit of love. Dad’s job as an engineer...
Seek opportunities to experience awe with kids
“Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast or beyond human scale, that transcends our current understanding of things,” according to Dacher Keltner. He leads UC Berkeley’s Social Interaction Lab and he helped Facebook create the recent additions of...
Challenge kids to excellence without criticism’s sting
My husband Bob, even in his 60's now, remembers his junior high school art teacher. His job doesn't require much by way of drawing skills, but he does have to sketch the occasional diagram or flow chart to illustrate a concept. Often while doing that, he finds himself...
Attachment theory applied to God
It hit me like a bolt of lightning as I was preparing a workshop that I presented at a national children’s spirituality summit last month. (My topic was spiritual learning styles and how a child most naturally connects with God.) God is a primary caregiver and...
When God is mean
Recently I spent time after school with a 5-year-old in my extended family. Her homework assignment that day was, “List at least five words that describe you.” After she gave her list I called out to her siblings, “Hey, do you want to do this too? And they did. Then...
5 coaching questions to use with your teenager
By Tara Miller, guest blogger The mother of a 16-year-old girl decided that instead of giving her daughter relationship advice-- which she knew would likely be unwelcome and unheeded-- she'd take a coaching approach instead. She'd ask questions and reflect back only...
Father’s Day: time for kids to make a card
Lucky moms! Kids are in school when Mother’s Day rolls around. Teachers and aides orchestrate the card and gift projects. Dads are not so fortunate. But you can step into the teacher’s shoes and provide fine gift ideas--and for the cards, some messages for the...
Born to connect with the divine
A cornerstone of Child-Centered Spirituality is this conviction: We are born with the capability to connect with the divine, and this activity is centered in our soul or spirit. New York Times columnist David Brooks adds his observations about humanity’s innate...
Helping kids make decisions: the forced choice approach
By guest blogger Tara Miller Often in life, we are faced with choices between two—or more—good options, but we don’t have the time, energy or money to do all of them. We have to choose. It’s especially difficult to choose when both options seem quite good. When the...
6 exercises teach kids to decompress
Decompress .... Have some fun teaching kids this all-important life skill. 1. Finger-counting breaths "A do-anywhere exercise. Create gentle fists with your hands, and with each breath, unfurl a finger from your palm. For example, on your first exhale open your left...
Kids remind us: keep asking questions
“We don’t ask each other questions. Instead, we speak—sometimes tweet—statements at each other.”* What response do we get when we assert our own ideas before we attempt to understand the other person? What tone does this set in our family relationships and in social...
Children ask, “Why are people mad at each other?”
If children are hearing news reports of recent national and international events, some of them want to talk about feeling upset by the anger and tension they sense between opposing groups. Pediatricians, child psychologists and others make available solid advice to...
Communication with God can help kids regain optimism
"My biggest fear used to be of heights. I never went on roller coasters. I was deathly afraid of ski lifts... I'm still afraid of heights. But this is no longer my biggest fear. For a year or two in high school, I guiltily admit that the zombie apocalypse was my...