Now Enrolling Ages 2.5 - 5th grade St. Mary’s Episcopal School is an independent Christian school educating children ages 2.5-5th grade with exceptional early childhood and elementary programming designed to help each child achieve his or her personal best.
Tips for building resilience in kids Military or non-military, there are many simple moments throughout a child’s day that can contain a wealth of learning and resilience-building opportunities. “For example, if I’m a kid and I forgot to bring my lunch to school one day, but I don’t like what they are serving in the cafeteria, I might feel upset,” described Dr. Marotta. “But I have to get myself calm, think about what my options are and then I have to make it work. And it’s that ‘making it work’ which builds my confidence that I am capable of making things turn out OK. If you think about that across a day for a child, then there are many opportunities for them to learn confidence that they can solve their problems.” When dealing with a tough situation, Dr. Marotta first advises parents to acknowledge their child’s emotions, recognizing that it is normal for the child to feel distressed no matter how big or small the issue may be. Oftentimes, parents also need to find their own sense of calm. “A lot of times, we’re all melting down at the same time!” laughed Dr. Marotta. “But think about effectiveness rather than efficiency. There is a bigger picture and it’s not about getting your kids to feel better immediately. It’s about all the learning that happens from this point of distress to the point of resolution. If you are solving their problem and trying to rush them through to feel better, you’re not being that learning model of how we return to calm.” Dr. Marotta also reminds parents that it is a sign of resilience to ask for help. “That’s true for parents as well as kids,” said Dr. Marotta. “If a kid is trying to problem solve exclusively on their own and continuing to meet obstacles and disappointment, we want them to know that they don’t have to figure it all out by themselves. Having a trusted person — parent, teacher, coach — that is able to help sit with your child in those hard feelings and get to the other side of it, that’s what gets them more and more ready for ‘adulting.’”
THE WILLIAMS FAMILY
Resilience resources For Young Kids • Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst • Fortunately by Remy Charlip • Sesame Street’s The Big Moving Adventure app For Elementary Kids • After the Fall by Dan Santat • Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees For Middle & High School Kids • When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed (graphic novel) • Front Desk by Kelly Yang • I am Malala (Young Readers edition) by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick For Parents • Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine by Dr. Michele Borba • Building Happier Kids: Stress-busting Tools for Parents by Dr. Hansa Bhargava • Chicken Little the Sky Isn’t Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety by Erica Komisar • Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids Workbook: Using Mindfulness and Connection to Raise Resilient, Joyful Children and Rediscover Your Love of Parenting by Dr. Laura Markham
St. Mary’s 51-acre campus in north Edmond features outdoor classrooms, athletic fields, walking trails and more. They believe that learning through experience is powerful and strive to give their students those opportunities.
Each of these for-parent authors will be featured speakers at MetroFamily’s The Modern Art of Parenting virtual summit, held April 1-8. Learn how you can attend for FREE at modernartofparenting.com.
505 E Covell Rd, Edmond 405-341-9541 smesedmond.org
16 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / MAR-APR 2022
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