Article archive: page 23
More practical, evidence-informed guidance for the real emotional and social situations children face.
How to Set a Limit Without Starting a Power Struggle
A limit becomes a power struggle when the conversation shifts from what will happen to who can make the other person surrender. You cannot guarantee that a child will accept a boundary calmly, but you can make the boundary shorter,…
What to Do When Siblings Keep Restarting the Same Conflict
When siblings keep restarting the same conflict, another forced discussion usually does not solve it. Separate first, identify the recurring point of friction, and create a specific rule for the next encounter. The aim is not to make…
Why Skills Learned While Calm May Disappear Under Stress
Knowing a skill in a quiet lesson does not guarantee access during conflict, fear, sensory overload, or public embarrassment. Stress can narrow attention and reduce working memory, inhibition, language, and flexible problem-solving.
Why Do Small Limits Lead to Big Reactions?
A small limit can produce a big reaction when it arrives on top of fatigue, hunger, uncertainty, sensory load, disappointment, or a strong need for control. The size of the reaction does not prove the limit was wrong, and the apparent…
Social Skills in Childhood: A Practical Guide for Adults
Social skills include joining and leaving interaction, noticing context, checking meaning, communicating boundaries, handling disagreement, repairing harm, and seeking help. They do not require one personality, constant eye contact, or…
What to Do When a Student Uses the Calm Corner to Avoid Work
Repeated use during one subject may look like misuse, but it is information. The task might trigger fear of mistakes, confusion, sensory overload, fatigue, peer exposure, or a genuine need for regulation. Avoidance and distress can…
How to Support a Student After Peer Rejection at Recess
“Just play with someone else” may be practical later, but it can feel dismissive immediately after rejection. First help the student regain enough steadiness to describe what happened without forcing a public confrontation.
How to Teach a Feelings Scale Without Turning It Into Compliance
A feelings scale is useful when it helps a student communicate intensity, notice change, and choose support. It becomes a compliance tool when adults require a “green” answer, dispute the student’s rating, or withhold access until the…
How Therapists Can Share Parent Handouts Without Overloading Families
A technically accurate handout can still fail if it arrives after an emotional session, contains six new strategies, or assumes time and resources the family does not have. The handout should reduce decision load, not create another…
How Therapists Can Use Regulation Activities Without Rushing the Child
Regulation activities should expand a child’s access to choice and participation, not hurry them into the therapist’s agenda. A child may need validation, sensory adjustment, pacing, or relational safety before a coping exercise is…
How to Use a Thought Record With an Elementary-Age Child
A thought record helps a child slow down one moment and examine a prediction. It is not a form for correcting “negative thinking,” and it should not be completed while the child is highly activated.
How to Track Skill Generalization After an SEL Small Group
Completing a role-play does not prove that a student can use the skill in a noisy classroom or emotionally charged recess. Generalization must be observed across people, settings, and levels of stress.