• Helping our Children Grow Courage

    Examples of courage are all around us.  We tend to notice only the big events though: a parent lifts a car off the leg of a child, a stranger who jumps into a river to save a drowning person, a teenager who steers a bus to safety when the busdriver passes out at the wheel. […]

  • Empowering Students – Growing Citizens

    At Sound Discipline we often begin workshops by asking teachers to imagine a student returning to visit as a young adult. We ask them to think of what gifts or qualities they hope that student will have acquired. The list is long. It often includes things like compassion, empathy, confidence, problem solving skills, healthy relationships, […]

  • Growing Capable Kids

    Capable children see themselves as competent and powerful.  They are able to handle challenges and age-appropriate tasks at each stage of development.  They can manage their own emotions and can get along with others. How can parents help their children develop this sense of capability? Let your child try to do things on his own […]

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  • Creating Family Connections

    Children develop an internal sense of who they are from birth. Relationships with others play a pivotal role in building their identity and sense of belonging.  This begins, of course, with primary caregivers and other family members, and then expands to include friends, school and community. Giving children messages of love, respect, and encouragement empowers […]

  • Building Belonging in a Community of Learners

    Research tells us that in schools, students who feel a positive connection – a sense of belonging – with both peers and adults, are in general, more caring and ethical, less prone to behavior problems, and more academically motivated.  Children who feel a sense of identity within the group tend to be well-adjusted and successful.  […]

  • Keeping the Joy Alive

    Being a parent probably takes a lot more hard work and patience than you imagined when you thought about having children.  It also takes a lot of time in our lives – there are morning and bedtime routines, shopping, meal preparation, attending school events, other activities, and…and…and.  With all of these obligations, we sometimes forget […]

  • Teaching About Feelings in the Classroom

    Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is now seen as a critical component for school success. It is not just one more add-on to your curriculum. It turns out to be an important foundation for students’ ability to learn and apply their learning to their lives. Emotional intelligence is strongly linked to staying in school, avoiding risky […]

  • Help your Child Understand Feelings

    There are many kinds of knowing. Research over the past 20 years tells us that knowing and understanding our emotions, emotional intelligence, is just as important as our intellectual intelligence. It involves understanding and being able to name our emotions as well as being able to use them productively in problem solving. Want to encourage […]

  • Growing Social Responsibility

    Cultivating community interest and a sense that “we are in it together” in our children enhances their moral development and broadens their perspective, encouraging them to think beyond themselves.  Teaching social responsibility begins with modeling. You don’t teach your children who you want them to be…you teach them who you are. Start early! Model sharing. […]