You'll Never Believe What She Said About...

Oh, hey, hi, good to see you! That's called 'click bait'. Headlines that start with "You'll never believe..." or "It's been proven that you can't..." or anything else that might get your curiosity piqued or your anxiety running high. And lookie here! You clicked! (But I'm grateful.)

It's honestly no wonder our children are riddled with anxiousness even more than we were at their age. No matter how hard we try to keep them from a screen-based childhood, it's bound to happen. They'll see something or hear something that makes them nervous. They'll pick up on our own anxieties (which are rampant at the moment) and take those to heart.

Sometimes they'll withdraw, sometimes they'll act out, sometimes it will seem like a non-sensical combination of both which is frustrating for us when we are simply trying to help our children through each day, all the while trying to make it through each day ourselves, right?

I don't have answers except to educate your children. Be honest with them. Talk UP to them, not down to them - by that, I mean it's better to use a word they don't know and then explain it than it is to use baby-words that minimize what they might be feeling. That's how I've always talked to my kids and that's how I write for your kids. Sure, there are big words in A.J. the Armadillo - but anxiety is a big feeling. Anything that gets a conversation going, that gets your child to open up to you, is going to help.

The more we read to our kids, the better. The more we listen to our kids, the better. The more we engage with our kids instead of dismissing them, the better. How does it feel when you, as an adult, are minimized by another adult? If that's true for you, then think of how it must feel as a child to be minimized by every single adult you come in contact with. How wonderful would it be to have even one adult take you seriously - listen to your thoughts and feelings as though you were their colleague and not their 6-year-old? Ask questions to them even if you know the answer. Ask them to elaborate (and then teach them what 'elaborate' means if they don't know).

Don't have a child? No problem! I'm willing to bet you KNOW a child. Volunteer at the library, at the elementary school, at a daycare, at your place of worship. Read to kids, talk to them, engage with them, be someone they can trust. The world needs so much more of that and will continue to need that - need YOU - with each passing day as we help the next generation become more accepting, inclusive, loving, and kind.

-SJS