Two Tip Tuesday is here! Let's jump right in. As always, you can catch last week's tips right here.
1. Stress Leads to Regression
When kids experience stress, they may regress to a stage of life when they felt more safe. During the pandemic, I saw tons of behavioral regression, potty regression, feeding regression, and emotional regression, especially in kids whose parents struggled most.
The antidote is to focus on emotional safety.
With so many summer transitions (think camps and vacays) happening right now, don't be surprised if you see your child (or yourself) regress. Keep these things in mind:
1. Noticing that stress leads to regression is not an excuse to be permissive. On the contrary, it's a time to increase your compassion (and hence patience) while setting loving limits.
2. Don't shame your child by saying, "You're too old for this!" Instead, remind them of what used to work and help them practice that skill again with a beginner's mindset.
3. Don't shame yourself if your stress leads to regression (e.g., yelling even though you know better). Just notice it and work on your own skills too.

2. Safety Skills are a Super Power
Every summer, I introduce my group coaching clients to a resource that I find super important for parents and kids alike. Kidpower teaches kids to stay safe, have great relationships, and prevent harm from things like bullying, sexual abuse, and even negative self-talk.
Their website can be a little overwhelming so let me point you in the right direction.
Here are my favorite Kidpower resources:
Safety Comic Books - Choose the comic book that matches your child's age.
Kidpower Video Shorts - Scroll down to find age-appropriate videos to watch with (or without) your child.
Boundary and Consent Posters - My favorite is the safety checklist because it has 4 simple rules to remember.
Have a great rest of your week...how ever you spend July 4th weekend!
❤️ Rachel
P.S. It's not too late to join my book group for parents who want to learn more about childhood anxiety. Sign up here.
P.P.S. And don't forget to sign up for Kids Bowl Free this summer using my Magic Link.
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