How do I make sure I'm raising a "good kid?"
Alexa: play "Treat People with Kindness" by Harry Styles
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Kicking the year off with a doozy! This is a topic I have been contemplating quite often lately both in my professional work and outside of it.
Working in education, it can be incredibly challenging to find the balance between managing behavior and teaching. Over the years I have read multiple books and evidenced-based articles about human behavior—specifically, why some kids may demonstrate behavior that is deemed “bad.” Honestly, I don’t want delve into that topic. It’s really not as helpful as reflecting on what it means to be “good.”
At the end of the day, all kids are good people. Not all kids have good behavior.
So, how do our kids learn to be kind? By watching us, through storytelling and play, and also from interacting with people they care about, like friends, family, and community members.
Kind kids feel safe and cared for within a trusting, secure relationship that ensures their needs are met consistently. Their ideas are encouraged and their failures are supported. On the whole they are tolerant, thankful, and polite. Kind kids can take and accept others’ perspectives, as well as build empathy.1
Today I want to focus on sharing stories to read with your kids that can model some of the qualities mentioned above. All kids, whether typically developing or neurodivergent, benefit from learning about different scenarios through stories. They will not only connect to the characters and situations, but also learn from language modeled in books that they can imitate or use in the future!
Books about having “big feelings” or “strange” ideas and people still caring about and for you, regardless
When a child feels that their thoughts and feelings are validated and understood, they are more likely to be patient and accept or celebrate someone else’s ideas.
Books about self-esteem and confidence
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