Hi families,
Here is the last parenting skill tip by parenting expert Michael grose. He looks at the Rhino as a resilient species and in this article talks about how to teach kids to cope when dealing with challenging or difficult situations. I hope you enjoyed this terms parenting tips and were able to take away some simple ideas to help with your parenting.
Wishing you all a great holiday. Hope you get to enjoy the sunshine and some quality time with the family.
Happy reading,
Ms Jodie
BIG FIVE Parenting Skill # 5: Teaching kids coping skills
The rhino is the last and rarest of the BIG FIVE African animals. The rhino with the support of conservationists around the world has proven to be a resilient species, as
it’s been driven to the edge of extinction in recent years.
Fortunately, the decline in rhino numbers has been halted, making a small but significant rise.
Like the rhino, there are times when kids need to bounce back. But they do need the support of adults who can teach them how to cope when live throws them curve balls.
Helping kids cope is one the big five skill sets parents need if they are maintain kids’ mental health in this modern, sometimes difficult world.
Here are my favourite five coping skills.
1. See the funny side of a situation: Humour is THE great coping strategy. It reduces stress and heightens feelings of control.
2. Park their bad thoughts somewhere: The ability to compartmentalise your life and keep bad events from impacting on all areas is a powerful coping skill.
“Don’t let this wreck your day” is an important message to get across to kids.
3. Let’s talk about it: A problem shared is a problem halved. Resilient kids seek solace in the company of others, when they experience difficulty.
That’s why social connection is so important for kids.
4. Keep your perspective: Some kids catastrophise (‘this is the worst thing to happen to me……..ever’) and others will personalise (‘it’s my fault that I have no friends’) when bad stuff happens.
These types of reactions exaggerate anxiety. One way kids can keep a sense of proportion is to ask them to identify their problem or difficulty on a disaster scale of 1 to 10.
Another is to wind back their language.
5. Set a goal or two: Help kids look ahead rather than backwards when bad stuff happens. “Let’s take the first step” can have a powerful impact on a child or young person when life doesn’t go their way.
Final words
I hope you found this BIG Five Parenting skill series useful.
Here’s a quick recap of the BIG FIVE skills and their links to the African BIG FIVE.
Parenting skill #1: Encouraging kids to be brave
(The lion is the king of the jungle & encouragement is the king of parenting skills.)
Parenting skill #2: Teaching Kids to Behave well
(Just as an elephant is hard to ignore, you can’t ignore poor behaviour.)
Parenting skill #3: Hooking Kids into Learning
(Just as the buffalo is basic to the survival of all species, a parent’s attitude is the building block to
successful learning)
Parenting skill #4: Speaking so kids will listen
(Just as the leopard chooses where to eat its prey parents need to think carefully where and how they
are to speak if they want kids to listen.)
Parenting skill #5: Teaching kids coping skills
(Like the rhino kids need to be able to bounce back in this sometimes difficult world.)
