It is a child's ability to self-regulate, interact well with others, ask for help, show empathy and make decisions. A child’s ability to have these skills with the support of their parents and teachers is important to their academic and emotional success. Studies show that children from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade are more successful and have healthier relationships with their peers when taught social-emotional skills at home and in school.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the health and well-being of our community. I strongly encourage parents and caregivers to be aware of their child's social and emotional skills. The pandemic has caused many children and adults to feel stressed and anxious, social media and our 24-hour news cycle have heightened our children's awareness of the dangers associated with COVID-19. We want to create a nurturing environment for children to feel safe and to strive in and out of the classroom.
It starts at home with parents being mindful of their actions as a role model for their children; to be able to be there for your children. Also, be a good listener and be empathetic to your child's concerns which helps them know that they can express themselves openly and honestly. Strong social-emotional skills allow children to complete difficult assignments, be mindful of their actions and ask for help when they need it.
One of our funded programs is the Conscious Awareness Learning Model. This program provides universal training to early education providers in social-emotional learning using the Conscious Discipline approach. The program builds the foundation for constructive problem solving and self-regulation. They provide a resource page on their website for families that provides more resources which include video tools for parents and children to do at home to strengthen their Social-Emotional Skills.
Learn more here https://www.calmhcc.org/learning-line-resources or www.childrensboard.org.
