Calm and Connected Podcast

Puzzles are one way my family and I love to play. I also use them at times in individual and group therapy. Puzzles are fun, but they also work on skills like organization, patience, perseverance and working together. Take a listen to how doing puzzles can help you playfully practice executive functioning skills and social skills.

Taking deep breaths can be tricky to teach! That’s why I love using props to help kids focus on deep belly breaths. In this podcast, I discus three of my favorite items to use to help kids learn how to take a deep breath. Take a listen here!

A coping skills toolbox is an actual physical container that houses items kids can use to help calm down and express their emotions in healthy ways. There are a ton of strategies your child can use to calm down, and having a toolbox is one way to keep several of these tools readily available to use. Where can you get these items to help create a coping skills toolbox or a calm down kit? I spend a lot of time at Michael’s because I love arts & crafts. But they also have lots of items that would work well in a calm down kit. On a recent trip, I took pictures of what I would put in a coping skills toolkit in the store. Listen to what I found!

Recently I watched the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor all about Mr. Rogers. I enjoy documentaries and like to watch them at night as part of my evening routines. I started to watch this one evening, and within the first few minutes, they had already talked about emotional regulation and social skills. I decided to stop and watch it during the day when I could write things down. When I watched the documentary, I took a ton of notes, and I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes and insights I gained from watching. Take a listen!

This week, the focus is all about giving you a few quick ideas for starting a morning and evening routine for yourself.

A coping skills toolbox is an actual physical container that houses items kids can use to help calm down and express their emotions in healthy ways. There are a ton of strategies your child can use to calm down, and having a toolbox is one way to keep several of these tools readily available to use. Where can you get these items to help create a coping skills toolbox or a calm down kit? One of my favorite places to go is Target. Recently, I went on a Target run and took pictures of what I would put in a coping skills toolkit. Listen to what I found!

What is perspective taking? It’s the ability to take another person’s point of view. This is a building block towards empathy. There are lots of different teachable moments that can happen in day to day life where you can talk about different perspectives people have on the same situation. There are also several games and activities you can play with children and teens to help them practice the art of walking in someone else’s shoes.

What is perspective taking? It’s the ability to take another person’s point of view. This is a building block towards empathy. There are lots of different teachable moments that can happen in day to day life where you can talk about different perspectives people have on the same situation. There are also several games and activities you can play with children and teens to help them practice the art of walking in someone else’s shoes.

What is perspective taking? It’s the ability to take another person’s point of view. This is a building block towards empathy. There are lots of different teachable moments that can happen in day to day life where you can talk about different perspectives people have on the same situation. There are also several games and activities you can play with children and teens to help them practice the art of walking in someone else’s shoes.

What is perspective taking? It’s the ability to take another person’s point of view. This is a building block towards empathy. There are lots of different teachable moments that can happen in day to day life where you can talk about different perspectives people have on the same situation. There are also several games and activities you can play with children and teens to help them practice the art of walking in someone else’s shoes.

What is perspective taking? It’s the ability to take another person’s point of view. This is a building block towards empathy. There are lots of different teachable moments that can happen in day to day life where you can talk about different perspectives people have on the same situation. There are also several games and activities you can play with children and teens to help them practice the art of walking in someone else’s shoes.

Chances are, if you're listening to this podcast, you know a worried child. Maybe it’s a kid in your class, in your home, or your therapy office. Here are the top books I use with kids who worry: Wilma Jean the Worry Machine by Julia Cook David and the Worry Beast by Anne Marie Guanci When My Worries Get Too Big by Kari Dunn Buron. What To Do When You Worry Too Much by Dawn Huebner, Ph.D. And of course, there is always the Coping Skills for Kids Workbook, to help those kids who need a little support figuring out their coping strategies.

On this episode of the podcast, I share a bit about my experiences growing up playing video games with my siblings, continuing to play as an adult, and now as a parent. Digital play is a part of our day to day lives - it has been acknowledged as a type of play. There are social skills you get a chance to practice when you play certain games, including working together, practicing conversations, and even executive functioning skills. I discuss my thoughts on video games, as well as the importance of finding balance. You can play on a screen, but then you can also do other things together too as a family. To hear my thoughts, take a listen!

Coloring is one of my favorite distraction skills. Research studies are happening now investigating the impact of coloring on anxiety, depression, or stress levels in different age groups. While the studies are small, it seems like they are finding that coloring does make a difference. To hear more about why coloring is awesome, take a listen!

This podcast episode is all about turning negative self-talk into positive self-talk. I discuss two of my go-to strategies when working with clients to help manage the negative things they say to themselves. When we let those negative thoughts fester, it can impact how we see ourselves and interact with the world. We want to focus on resilience and the positive aspects of who we are, so it makes sense to focus on positive self-talk. Take a listen to the podcast to hear a couple of ideas: