Helping Kid Perfectionists Feel “Good Enough”
Dr. Michele Borba offers parenting tips to help kids overcome perfectionism and the fear of never being good enough so will be more likely to thrive.
10 Tools to Reduce Childhood Anxiety
Dr. Michele Borba shares ways to calm kids’ anxieties from her book,Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine.
12 Ways to Tune Up Social-Emotion Skills
Few skills increase children’s confidence, social competence, empathy, resilience, and self-esteem more than emotional literacy skills because kids need them in every area of their lives. Dr. Borba shares practical strategies to help kids tune up their emotional ABCs in our digital-driven, social distanced world.
6 Ways to Raise Kids Who Want to Make a Difference
Altruistic kids feel another’s pain or recognize a social problem and are driven to find solutions to help, and do so not for trophies or rewards but because they are driven by the passion of their hearts. Kids who act on their empathetic urges also find one of the best ways to reduce stress. It’s why doing for others is one of the best ways to boost resilience and help children learn to thrive. Six ways to raise difference makers.
10 Ways to Raise Tolerant, Non-Racist Kids
10 Ways to Raise A Non-Racist, Tolerant Child I was in the Portland, Oregon, airport last year and witnessed one of the most powerful lessons about teaching tolerance. About two dozen preschool children and their teachers were on an airport field trip. All were walking hand in hand and wearing t-shirts that read: “Children Are Not Born Racist.” It was quite an image. Other passengers were struck as I was, and many stopped to stare. One man standing near me said to no one in particular, “If...
50 Books for Kids and Teens That Teach Empathy
Great Kids' Books That Teach Empathy and Character Books can transport children to other worlds and transform their hearts. I learned that lesson as both a teacher and a mother. I've seen those wondrous moments when a child's heart opened and saw the world differently. It's why The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes is one of my favorite children's book. It tells the stirring story of Wanda Petronski, a poor, quiet, third-grade girl who always wears the same faded blue dress. Wanda has no...
Talking to Kids About Tragedy
How to Talk to Kids About Tragedy and Calm Their Worries How do we talk to kids about a tragedy so they understand the event and feel that they will thrive? Whether it's the Capitol Insurrection, a shooting, a bombing, or natural disaster, all of us are trying to make sense of the unimaginable and trying to find a way to help our kids copes. Here are tips about how to talk to kids about any tragedies to help you have a most difficult, but necessary conversation. Gauge the pointers to the age,...
Tips to Stretch Kids’ Self-Control
Dr. Michele Borba shares evidence-based strategies to stretch children’s waiting abilities and improve their self-control.
10 Ways to Raise a Charitable Child
How to cultivate a giving spirit and raise a charitable child Samantha is not yet 4 years old, but she already has the makings of a charitable child. She was distributing school supplies with her family to kids at a shelter and noticed one child in a corner didn’t have a backpack. She picked up a spare, walked to him and said, “I sorry you don’t have one. I hope you happy.” The preschooler may have missed a few words. But her message displayed empathy and a charitable spirit, all because her...
Kid Negativity Cures
Dr. Michele Borba shares evidence-based parenting strategies to curb children’s negativity and pessimism to increase optimism and resilience.
100 Movies for Kids and Teens that Nurture Empathy
A list of 101 movies for kids and teens that nurture empathy teach the nine essential habits of empathy identified by Dr. Michele Borba, author of UnSelfie.
Nurturing Gratitude in Kids 365 Days a Year!
Dr. Michele Borba, author of Thrivers, offers 7 practical ways to help children practice gratitude 365 days a year.
50 Ways to Model Character to a Child
The easiest way to teach kids character is not a program, but by being an example of character. Be the model you want your child to copy. Of course, we want our children to become good, responsible, respectful and successful human beings! But in our quest to "do it all" we may forget that some of the most powerful ways to help our children become good people aren't in the things we buy, but in the simple things we say and do. And how our children need those examples! Too many adults are...
9 Ways to Cultivate Courage in Kids to Find Their Hero Within
How to cultivate courage for our bubble-wrapped kids so they find strength to face adversity and do the right thing. Empathy Habit #8: MORAL COURAGE Empathy is the miraculous quality that allows us to feel with others, but in order to act on those feelings kids need Moral Courage. Courage emboldens kids to speak out, step in and help others and it is the eighth of the Nine Crucial Empathy Building Habits in UnSelfie. We can cultivate courage. So let's roll up our sleeves and get started. This...
Cures for Kids Hooked on Rewards
If your child is hooked on rewards, beware. Rewards can reduce kids' potential to thrive. “What do I get if I do it?” “How much will you give me?” "Why should I do it if you don't pay me?" Heard any of these words lately from your darling offspring? If so, chances are your kid is suffering from a widespread kid epidemic called: “Hooked on Rewards.” Translation: the kid expects the gold stars, stickers, or monetary prizes for a job well done. Of course we want our kids to succeed: we’re...
5 Secrets to Raising Kind-Hearted Kids
Dr Michele Borba, author of Thrivers, shares 5 evidence-based tips to cultivate kindness in children.
Signs of Stress in Children and Teens
Dr. Michele Borba shares common signs of stress in children and teens.
Teaching Kids to Be Upstanders
How to teach kids to stand up to cruelty and be Upstanders In an NBC's Dateline special: "The Perils of Parenting," I appeared as the expert on bullying. Producers asked me to teach middle school students--when bullying peaks--specific bystander strategies to deal with bullies. I developed the techniques after reviewing dozens of studies on the “Bystander Effect” and have trained hundreds of educators in how to use them with students. The US Army also invited me to teach these skills on 18 of...
45 Tips to Teach Kids to Stop Peer Cruelty
Teaching Kids to Stop Peer Cruelty & Choose Kindness "Do you have any tips I can teach kids to stop peer cruelty?" a teacher asked. I smiled and I nodded. I've been developing ways we can teach kids to stop peer cruelty and sharing them with kids for over three decades, and we must keep doing so. The effects of peer cruelty are far-reaching and can cause immense stress, anxiety, health problems, depression, and humiliation that may result in serious mental health issues for our children....
7 Ways to Teach Perspective Taking and Stretch Students’ Empathy Muscles
Dr. Michele Borba, author of THRIVERS: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine, offers 7 ways to help children learn perspective taking.
9 Habits of Empathetic Children
Did you know that empathetic children share nine habits that they developed? Here are the 9 habits of empathetic children. I hope you join me to create an #UnSelfie Revolution so we raise kids with empathy, moral conviction and courage. Most writers admit that there is one moment where a book started to gel. Mine was at the United States Air Force Academy where I was speaking to the faculty and cadets about character development. It was there that a young cadet asked me the question of a...