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Ping Pong Talk Many new parents are thrilled to hear their baby’s first coos and noises! Encourage them to respond back as if they are having a conversation with an adult. They can respond by imitating the noise the baby made, or by saying something like, “tell me more.” Then they can pause and wait for the baby to respond again. Like a game of ping pong, parents can keep back and forth conversations going with and without words. Smiling, kicking and even turning away are all part of baby...

By Laura Gallant, 3/10/22, https://positiveexperience.org/category/blog/ Today, Thursday March 10, is the fourth day in our Week of HOPE. This week is intended to spread awareness of HOPE – Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences TM and help people learn about the difference that positive childhood experiences can make for children, families, and those who serve them. Today’s theme is HOPE Family Day. HOPE aims to shift the model of care to a more collaborative and family-led framework.

Stop the spread...of STRESS! Stress is not only triggered by external or internal factors. You can also pick up stress from social interactions – spouse, other household members, colleagues, etc. – usually referred to as emotional contagion. Learn how to stop the spread of stress and regain your health.

By Lurie Children's Hospital, Photo: Stock Photo, Daily Herald, March 5, 2022 We take care of our bodies by eating healthy, exercising and practicing good hygiene. Our minds and our hearts need us to take care of them, too -- especially in the face of ongoing stress. "It's important to remind ourselves, no matter our age, that there is no such thing as a good feeling or a bad feeling," said Rebecca Mitsos, a certified child life specialist at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital...

By Claudia M Gold, MD, March 8, 2022 Eight-week-old Asher hovered somewhere between awake and asleep in his mother Esther’s arms. His father Clarence explained that “naps are a thing of the past.” They described pressures they felt to tell the world Asher was a “good baby” when in fact he was often fussy and cried inexplicably. Taking care of this little person who needed great effort on their parts to settle was really hard. They both wanted to accept their son as his full self, free from...

By Jessica Grose, Image by Eleanor Davis, The New York Times , March 9, 2022 The parenting method RIE — that stands for Resources for Infant Educarers and is pronounced “rye” — and its most famous practitioner, Janet Lansbury, are having another high-profile moment, with interviews this year by Ezra Klein in The Times and Ariel Levy in The New Yorker . And because I’m old and cranky and have been on the parenting beat for a minute, my gut response to this resurgence is: Again? I remember...

By Brian Contreras, Image: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2022 A nationwide investigation will explore the risks that the wildly popular short-form video app TikTok poses to children, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced Wednesday. Among the issues the investigation will focus on will be how the company has sought to increase the duration and frequency of use of its app by young people, the extent to which the company is aware of any harm it may be causing those users and...

By Jericka Duncan, Image: Screenshot from article, CBS News, March 3, 2022 When 35-year-old Maureen Gardner was pregnant, she was on the brink of homelessness — until a new pilot program created a financial bridge to help her stay out of poverty. For years, Gardner worked as a director of a nonprofit after-school program. Right before the pandemic hit, she left the job and went through her savings. Gardner soon found herself expecting her now 5-month-old son Garrett with no job. But then, a...

By Laura Gallant, 3/7/22, https://positiveexperience.org/category/blog/ Today Monday, March 7, is the first day of the Week of HOPE. This week is intended to spread awareness of HOPE – Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences TM and help people learn about the difference that positive childhood experiences can make for children, families, and those who serve them. We are excited to be celebrating the Week of HOPE across the country. We are especially grateful to Vicky Roper, director of...

March 1, 2022 by Rise As part of our community-building workshops to begin the program , parents in the 2022 Rise & Shine leadership program engaged in discussion about self-care and community-care strategies. Together, parents developed a list of self-care and community-care strategies for our group, which we also want to share as a resource for our Rise community. We hope it can be a tool as we continue to explore ways to build relationships, keep each other safe and care for ourselves...

In light of recent events, Resilient Guilford Network is sharing resources from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) in response to the war on Ukraine. Some are specific to military families, while others are more general resources. Please see the links below and let us know if you have questions and how we can help support your local efforts. Deep breaths as we start a new week together. We look forward to staying connected and are grateful for all you do. General Child...

Getting Out the Door on Time For many families, getting out the door to school each morning can be a source of stress and conflict. For preschoolers, you can help parents promote autonomy and self-regulation skills by suggesting that they create a simple picture schedule of the morning activities to empower their child to be “in charge” of their own behavior. Having control over how and when things get done increases cooperation skills and builds competence. See this video for an example...