How to Talk to Your Child About Refugees: Expanding into the Community
In our last two blogs, we’ve been discussing how to talk to your child about refugees and how you can begin exploring more through conversations and learning in your home. While discussing topics such as that of immigration are important in creating good, global citizens and increasing empathy, they are especially important and relevant to our community. For many caregivers, it may be easy to assume that their children have not been exposed to immigration or refugees. However, the reality is that as of 2019, Austin has approximately 12,000 refugees, and therefore, it’s likely that many children have classmates who are refugees or immigrants and/or have a loved one close to them who is.
How to Talk to Your Child About Refugees: Starting in Your Home
As a parent, my hope is to raise caring, strong, and compassionate children that become good global citizens. And yet as an adult, I’m aware that many subjects, such as that of refugees, can be a complicated topic in today’s world. Not only does it often bring political debate, but also the complexity of understanding the various terms when people speak about refugees.
How to Talk to Your Child About Refugees
At Ensemble Therapy, we understand the importance of healing and we want to foster growth throughout our community, so we prioritize partnering with local organizations and volunteering in our community. We recognize that currently, the system our community has for supporting refugees is in need of volunteers, resources, and assistance. We know that as we practice acceptance and inclusion and honor diverse identities the healing benefits ripple through the community at large, so we want to share with our closest community (you!) why you should explore immigration with your children and how to do so.
Embracing Playtime: Deepen Connection as the Primary Caregiver
Does this happen in your house? When the caregiver who works more outside of the home – the one who doesn’t typically pick up from school, the one who still goes to work even when the kids are sick – comes home from work and the kids run to them, play with them, seem to have really sweet connected time with them? But then you’re the one enforcing all the tough transitions. Time to finish playing and eat, or do homework, or get in the bath, or whatever less preferred activity is necessary.
Advanced Limit Setting
Now you’ve learned the ACT method of limit setting (Landreth, 2012) and you may find yourself asking - what do I do if my child won’t make a choice? That’s called advanced limit setting. Let’s get into it!
Sugar and Your Child’s Health
Is sugar REALLY that bad for your kid? What’s the harm?
Some years ago, as a Mom of two elementary - age kiddos & a new Human Nutrition student, I had to take a hard look at how sugar specifically was affecting my children. From their behavior to their sleep patterns to what seemed like an endless stream of roller-coaster emotions and consistent health issues, I had to explore what we were ingesting and how it may be affecting all of these things. But where should I start? The amount of information was overwhelming, to say the least, and I had only just begun my journey into the science of nutrition. It was like drinking from a water hose of information.