Blog

By Sharon Holbrook, The New York Times, February 11, 2021 I begged my 12-year-old to help me with the pandemic task of learning to dye my hair at home. I could have done it myself, but I’ve learned that small opportunities to feel useful and successful are good for kids’ mental health, which I’m especially attuned to in our current circumstances. Among the other ideas I’ve tried during these long months: Letting my kids practice phone skills by having them call to order takeout and asking...

From PBS Kids, Public Broadcasting Service, February 2021 Children are never too young to learn about diversity. As young as 3 months old, they may look differently at people who look like or don’t look like their primary caregivers. As parents and caregivers, we must have confidence in ourselves and in our children — that we, and they, can handle tough topics and tough situations. We must understand that our role is to be honest, specific, and trustworthy as we raise the next generation to...

By Tanya Mendis, WCNC, February 8, 2021 Congresswoman Alma Adams remembered vividly the day her daughter nearly lost her life. It happened when her daughter was trying to bring life into this world. “A physician overlooking my daughter’s complaints of pain in her abdomen, not listening to her needs as a Black woman,” Adams said. “Their dismissal of her pain almost cost my daughter her life.” Adams’ daughter’s experience is one that echoes through the Black community. Maternal mortality rates...

Often, people who have a history of trauma in childhood find themselves struggling to flourish in adulthood. Trauma affects the brain in ways that can make you more likely to experience difficulty when faced with emotionally stressful and demanding situations in your relationships, at work, and as a parent. Throughout my life, both growing up and as an adult, I’ve faced a number of challenging life experiences, stressors, and traumas, and I understand this struggle on a deep, intrinsic...

CMSC Circles of Practice: Public Offering is pleased to bring you this very special silent retreat in honor of women around the world. Harnessing Fierce Self-Compassion offers an opportunity to come together in a global community for practice, connection, and the chance to explore our innate capacity for fierce self-compassion. Presenters: Dr. Kristin Neff: Fierce Yang and Tender Yin Self-Compassion Dr. Marta Alonso: Fierce Self-Compassion and the Body Aimee Eckhardt : Parenting with Fierce...

ACEs Parenting Theater Course Parents with a high ACE score may find it difficult to draw upon their own childhood memories for examples of positive parenting. They aren’t alone. For many, the way we parent our own children often mirrors the way we ourselves were raised, whether we do this consciously or not. You may think this only natural since one’s parents are the primary reference point for how to communicate, relate, and respond to others and to life. As they say, “You don’t know what...

Hello ACE Followers, We are so looking forward to 2021 and we hope for a year filled with coming together, protecting our families and neighbors, and building stronger communities. I strongly believe that using Circle concepts, tools, and practices in our work and our personal lives can really transform relationships. We wished that our first training of the year could have been in person. However, the upside of having virtual trainings is that literally, anyone, anywhere in the world can...

By SXSW EDU, PR Newswire, February 9, 2021 SXSW EDU is pleased to announce that Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry , the co-authors of the upcoming book What Happened to You (Flatiron Books out April 27 ), will open the 2021 virtual event as the keynote session on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 at 9:30am CT . The fireside chat will feature global media icon and philanthropist, Ms. Oprah Winfrey and world-renowned brain development and trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry , M.D. Ph.D. Together they will...

By Danna Lorch, The New York Times, February 10, 2021 Before even becoming a parent, I was conditioned to believe that good mothers always put themselves dead last. At a college reunion years ago, I complimented a former classmate, a mother of three, on how strong she looked. She shrugged it off: “Oh, that’s because I never take time to make myself food. I just eat scraps off the kids’ plates.” Years later, when I was pregnant with my son, Isaac, friends who were already moms eyed my bump...

By Jessica Grose, The New York Times, February 4, 2021 In early September, as the school year inched closer, a group of mothers in New Jersey decided they would gather in a park, at a safe social distance, and scream their lungs out. For months, as the pandemic disrupted work and home life, these moms, like so many parents, had been stretched thin — acting as caregivers, teachers and earners at once. They were breaking. As are mothers all over the United States. By now, you have read the...

By Astrid Quinn, ITV, February 4, 2021 Kathryn Hamelton, from Sheffield, gave birth to her fourth child Sophia in February last year. But caring for a newborn baby and three other children in the isolation of lockdown began to take its toll and in October 2020, she tried to take her own life. She explained: [ Please click here to read more .]