What exactly is self-esteem?
Brian Mesinger, PhD, a psychologist at the Fort Collins Youth Clinic in Colorado, defines the term in the following way; “Self-esteem is the collection of beliefs or feelings that we have about ourselves. How we define ourselves hugely influences our motivations, attitudes and behaviours”. Put simply, self-esteem is the value we place upon ourselves. It […]
Tips for developing your child’s emotional intelligence
Tips for developing your child’s emotional intelligence (and developing these characteristics yourself); ☺ Raise your children understanding that while all emotions are acceptable, not all behaviours are. ☺ Help your children to find appropriate and healthy ways of dealing with all of their emotions, especially the negative ones (this does not allow for them to […]
What is emotional intelligence?
It seems that every parenting magazine you pick up today is filled with pamphlets advertising talks and workshops for parents on the topic of emotional intelligence. What on earth is this? How important is it? And more significantly, what can we, as parents, do at home to promote emotional intelligence in our children and ourselves? Dr. […]
Teaching children anger management skills
Young children are often caught unaware by their own feelings of anger and frustration. They don’t fully understand what came over them in their fit of rage and may feel agitated and confused (and sometimes a little guilty) by their own behaviour. Here are some tips on helping your little one deal with his anger […]
How to discipline a toddler without creating fear
How do you effectively discipline a toddler? Most parents will know that this is much easier said than done. How do you deal with a being that is the epitome of cuteness in one moment and then the devil himself the next? When is it okay to ignore disruptive behaviour? Until what age are tantrums […]
Hello Doctor Programme
Don’t miss me and my 15 minutes of fame this Sunday on Hello Doctor at 4pm on SABC3 – the insert deals with stress in children.
School readiness: The importance of emotional maturity
School readiness depends as much on emotional maturity as it does on scholastic ability. In order to be deemed cognitively school ready, children need to achieve a test age of 6 years 3 months on school readiness assessments. Yet, I have assessed many children who have scored much higher than this and still recommended that […]
Grow a tale: Parent workshop
Story telling is an art as old as the hills and children of all ages love listening to stories. A good story can inspire, teach and even heal and playtherapists often use stories in the form of narrative therapy with young children. If you live in the Cape Town area, consider joining Lisa Cohen for […]
Crying at school
You knew this would happen. You were prepared for it. All along while you had paid the deposit and bought the new stationary you were expecting a few tears from your little one on his first few days of pre-school. Why then, when you left him this morning with tears brimming in his eyes, perhaps […]
Self-esteem in children
Self-esteem in children: Put very simply self-esteem is how we feel about ourselves. It’s how we describe and evaluate ourselves. A child with a high self-esteem will describe himself or herself in positive terms and will feel confident and competent. Low self-esteem has been associated with anxiety, social inadequacy, dependence and over-sensitivity to criticism.
