Childhood trauma often occurs from distressing events or relationships that exceed a young person’s ability to understand or process a traumatic experience. Most of us link trauma with tragedies like mass shootings, rape, accidents, war, or natural disasters. But childhood trauma is also associated with “adverse childhood experiences” (ACES) including […]
Resilience
Parents who would like to help their children learn how to stop procrastinating and start achieving their greatest goals are invited to share this article with them, and chat about it, too. It’s written to help children and teens understand and manage their avoidance behaviors. Hopefully it will generate positive changes […]
Resourcefulness
If you had to choose between teaching your child empathy or helping her study for tomorrow’s math test, which would you choose? If you had to choose between raising a kind child or making sure he was fully prepared for next week’s basketball tournament, which would you choose? Of course, […]
Empathy
At its core, creativity is about brewing new ideas. If you carefully observe children before the age of six, you’ll notice they are idea-generating enthusiasts! Why? Because humans are uniquely creative beings, born with a gift to create new ideas and innovative outcomes that evolve from their ideas. What happens […]
Creativity
When our daughter Sarah was in 7th grade, her Latin Class held student chariot races—reenacting a sport that began in ancient Greece. Sarah’s goal was to build the best chariot so she and her team could win the competition. It was a fun school project, and one that had the […]
Resourcefulness
“Name twenty things you love about me,” my younger daughter requested just as I was shutting the door to her bedroom. Because I immediately thought about the dirty dishes in the sink, the work I had yet to do before I could go to bed, and the ache in my […]
Compass-Inspired
We live in an age where integrity often takes a back seat to power and material success — where “the end justifies the means” is a mantra for too many adults who influence children. Nowhere has this mantra played out more publicly than in U.S. politics, where deceit, dishonesty, and […]
Integrity
Every parent wants their son or daughter to feel passionate about what they do, to pursue interests that fuel happiness and provide a sense of accomplishment. But what if your child’s passions aren’t obvious? What if they seem to drift from one thing to another, but nothing really takes hold? […]
Self-Awareness
The concept of self-awareness has intrigued philosophers since the dawn of antiquity. In today’s world, it’s a term that can easily be dismissed as frivolous self-absorption, or even worse, narcissism. Yet, self-awareness is a core ability that helps us gain a deeper understanding of how we think, feel, and act […]
Self-Awareness
Most of us want to protect our children from struggle. After all, if we shoulder their burdens, they’ll be happier, right? Not usually. Children are happiest when parents scaffold their children’s ability to tackle life’s challenging experiences. This kind of scaffolding is necessary from a very young age. As children […]
Resilience
Each of us wants our children to develop positive relationships—to experience the power of unconditional love, support, friendship, and encouragement throughout school and life. But we also know that creating and sustaining relationships is hard work—effort that requires a cooperative ability to interact with others. Psychologists call this capacity sociability, […]
Sociability
Your child is going through a difficult time. You don’t quite know what’s at the root of the struggle, but you do know that you want to do whatever you can to help. Fortunately, there are some practical things you can do, starting right now, to begin to make things […]
Resilience
