See Me Hear Me Love Me

Thank you Dr Tara Zuckerman for this much needed conversation on Parent Burnout and Child Meltdowns. Yes...it's about the expectations we put on ourselves! How to feel all the feelings, know we are all learning, know everyone loses it, and know our children are learning too!

When was the "last normal school year"? For 12th Graders, it was 9th Grade. For 6th Graders, it was 3rd Grade. For Kindergartners through 2nd Grade, NEVER! Our preK children were in the 2's. And our Family Time children are all "Covid babies" born during the pandemic! So, we want to know: How has the isolation, the masking, the social precautions, the talk of catching and/or spreading a virus shaped our children? Is it a short term hiccup based on changes in children's social routines or will there be long term losses and gains that will change social and educational assumptions for a large number of children? With co-host, Rabbi David Steinhardt and Dr. Marnee Schneider, a Pediatric Clinical Neuropsychologist from www.drmschneider.com

Why doesn't G-d make Covid go away! Join us as we explore how to answer really hard questions from children when we are struggling with the same questions. How can parents be brave and positive in the face of on-going stress and uncertainty - should they even try? Listen to Rabbi David Steinhardt, psychotherapist and poet Avi Steinhardt, Louie the Blue Monster's observations of being human, and our friend and colleague Allison Sherman asking the really hard parent questions.

This is an inspiring and fearless conversation with Mandi Franklin, pediatric nurse practitioner and children's book author. Her new book is called Is My Best Friend a Robot? The book is truly a gift to young children and families. It gives readers of all ages the words to talk about things we don't understand - whether it's an insulin pump, other childhood illnesses or any misunderstood differences. It is truly a book about curiosity, differences and what it means to be a true friend! Listen to this conversation and you will hear strategies and tools to talk to young children and also to encourage empathy and playfulness! I recommend this book for every home and every classroom. And I recommend Mandi to be a guest reader and speaker. She is a fabulous resource to families!

Here is my favorite poem and a few thoughts on The Learning Poem because all learning really is about emotions, a process of skill building, mistake-making and L E A R N I N G!

For many of us, these are stressful times! They are especially stressful for parents trying to help children manage anxiety when grownup anxiety is so close to the surface. We welcome Tara Kebre, licensed marriage and family therapist from Boca Raton Counseling Center, to help us navigate these challenging times. Tara shares extraordinary hope that it's the connection our children feel that matters most! We can do that, even when we are at a loss for words or the "right" thing to do. Thank you Tara for this valuable and amazing conversation! You can contact Tara Kebre through www.BocaRatonCounselingCenter.com

Teaching children empathy and the skill of repairing mistakes is developmental and complicated. Here's a great conversation from Karen's new podcast with Rabbi David Steinhardt, called The Language of Ahava. We embrace our imperfections and our mistakes in order to grow and learn...with more love!!! Special Guest, Rabbi Amy Pessah from ASoulfulJourney.com and author of Parenting on a Prayer available from benyehudapress.com

A special preview of Karen's new podcast with Rabbi David Steinhardt, called The Language of Ahava. With special guest Avi Steinhardt and Louis, the Blue Monster! Let's talk about BIG emotions - giving expression to the wild within and feeling safe through the emotional storms. Check out Monster Insight on Instagram and Facebook for more Louie - song, insights, and the feeling that you are not alone!!!

What to do when your child's angry? When your child can't "hear" your calming messages? Anger is a big, challenging emotion for the children experiencing it and for the parents trying to help, support and guide a child through the emotional storm. Listen to the real struggle with special insights from Dr. Marnee Schneider, a pediatric clinical neural psychologist (see her website - https://www.drmschneider.com/) At the Table with Marnee and Lauren

Our goal is to raise children who have strong emotional intelligence, who are resilient, resourceful, flexible and experience joy. The developmental arc of emotional intelligence is to move from the amygdala brain to executive function with "whole brain" thinking. Early Childhood Educators have always known that "play" is the way to self-regulation, to meaning-making and to raising competent, capable, socially respectful children. Here are a few takeaways from a Keynote Presentation I'm doing next week called Laughing Our Way to Better Teacher. Laughter and humor and play are essential building blocks for emotional intelligence - not just for teachers but for parents too. Solo with Karen

Here's an episode from the Archives talking about Setting Limits with Respect when there is resistance, attitude and pushback from your child. With 5 new tips from Karen: Act with Love; Accept Feelings; Know What You Know; Let Go of False Expectations; Baby Steps

Be inspired by The Be Books and Lauren's message of kindness and positivity. Lauren also shares following her dream as a mom and an author See more about Lauren and The Be Books at www.TheBeBooks.com

In our quest to be "better" in a new year, we often look around and try to get others to change - particularly the all the frustrating things children do. Would you love to change your child's behavior now? I worry that that impatience only adds to escalating frustration and counter-productive responses to kids learning and growing. To us learning and growing! Change requires slowly building and practicing emotional intelligence and cognitive problem-solving skills. It also requires a sense of humor and an I'm-on-your-side connection. Want your child to change NOW? First look at your ability to change something that's frustrating you into something better. Just Karen at the Table...

I'm excited for Part 2 of my conversation with Alexis Cobo, Computer, Science & Technology Specialist at Pinecrest School in Boca Raton. In this podcast, Alexis shares insights and recommendations for helping children to interact thoughtfully with Artificial Intelligence devices in the home. It's a new world of technology in the home that is not going away so let's help children and families use and engage meaningfully with a new generation of smart devices and toys. Thank you Alexis!!! You can follow Alexis on Twitter at @agatorbites

This is not a tech toy shopping list. It's better. It's how children engage and play with technology in order to create thinking and problem solving skills to be innovators and creators. My hope is that, as parents listen to my favorite science & tech specialist, they will learn how thinking and collaboration skills are more essential than ever. Tech is here to stay and we have an exciting opportunity to communicate and guide young children to become thinkers and problem solvers...through play. At the Table with Alexis Cobo, Computer, Science and Technology Specialist at Pine Crest School in Boca Raton. You can follow her on Twitter @ agatorbites

Here's a little reminder to step back from holiday stress to think of how your family, even the youngest children, can help others and receive "the gift of giving" from the Archives #Giving and Receiving!

Back from the NAEYC Conference, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and proud and inspired to be an Early Childhood educator!!! Here's a podcast from the archives on the Power of Comfort Objects - wishing everyone the comfort and emotional support of feeling safe. Emotional intelligence and that unconditional love IS the foundation of all learning and growing.

Gratitude and Emotional Intelligence go hand in hand - both are skills that require practice to develop fully. The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence suggests three parts to a "gratitude practice": paying attention, writing about it, and expressing it to "complete the feeling of connection". As we teach young children a "gratitude practice", I suggest first help them to stop and recognize the moments of value and their own feelings (See Me Hear Me Appreciate what matters to me). Second, create age-appropriate routines to make gratitude an ongoing habit. And finally, create action to express that gratitude to others and that gives children the power to help others from a place of abundance and resourcefulness. Happy Thanksgiving!

Episode #210 Revisiting Self Care before Holiday Madness Sets In by Karen Deerwester

You owe it to your children! You owe it to yourself! Revisiting Episode #92