Don’t Give Up!

Print this page and help children complete it. Remember:

• It’s okay if children see you struggling! Watch this video in which Abby’s mom admitted how she was feeling. Talk through your own challenging moments and how you’re dealing with them (“I’m feeling so frustrated by this traffic jam. I’m going to take three deep breaths,” “Organizing these papers feels like too much for me right now! I’m going to work on them for 10 more minutes, then come back tomorrow when I’m feeling better.”)

• Acknowledge that there are some problems which people disagree about how to fix, and it often takes several tries to get it right. It’s good to keep thinking of more ideas that will work until you find something. For instance, you might say, “I’m so tired after that neighborhood meeting, I’m going to take a break for a half hour before I think about the problem we were trying to solve together.” The bigger the challenge, the more opportunity children may have to learn and remember how you worked through it, especially as part of a team.

• Sticking to a task when it’s hard requires persistence as well as recognizing and managing emotions—help children label their feelings (anger, frustration, disappointment) and let them know that they will not feel that way forever.

• Throughout the day, talk through the small acts of kindness you are doing or planning (“I’m going to get this large bag of rice because it’s on sale, and give half to ____ since they have a harder time getting to the store.”).