DEALING WITH CHILDREN'S REACTION TO VIOLENCE AND CRISIS BY MARY JO RAPINI

Dealing with Children's Reaction to Violence and Crisis

by Mary Jo Rapini, MEd, LPC

With the recent happenings in Boston and Texas, I am reminded of our "little ones." If you are a parent, your child monitors their reaction by watching yours. Here are a few suggestions to help you help your child.

1.    Parents are a barometer for their children, and children are skilled with reading their parent's emotions. So, before you talk to your children, make sure you know how you feel about what happened, and if you are anxious or not ready to help your child feel secure, delay talking with them about it 2.    Don't mention the trauma part to your children and don't assume what they are afraid of. Rather, ask them specifically so you won't introduce another possible fear. If they mention they are afraid that something bad may happen to them, validate that by saying it's natural to feel that way, but also tell them you are going to do everything you can to keep them safe. 3.    Limit the news in your home regarding the tragedies. Children don't understand the replays and they may be at the level of thinking each time they view the incident that it is happening again. The visual parts as well as the audio accounts of the recent tragedies once seen and heard may create anxiety, nightmares, and depression in children. 4.    As much as possible, stay on your routine at home. This will give your child stability and reduce anxiety. 5.    As a family, draw cards, send letters, and/or bake cookies for the families or people in the community where the tragedies occurred, or for someone needing them in your own community. This helps your child see that there are more good people than bad. 6.    This is an excellent time to set up an emergency plan in your own home. Go through what you each will do if there is an emergency. This empowers children and helps them feel more in control. Remind them of a time something happened and what they did to help. Also remind them of how proud you were of them. 7.    Take extra time at night to read stories, watch movies, or say prayers. This helps kids feel safer and it is also a time when questions come up that parents can use to help understand how their child is processing the tragedies. 8.    This is a good time to bring your spiritual beliefs to the forefront. Things such as having a mass said, lighting a candle, or planting a tree for the people who lost their lives is important. It helps your child see that no matter what happens people do care and they do remember. Spirituality is also important because it gives us strength beyond our human capacity. 9.    Listen to your children.  Children's brains work differently than adults, and by careful listening you can better ascertain where your child is having a difficult time with the recent events. 10.    Grieving with your child will help them heal. Children grieve much differently than adults. Their time frame isn't the same as ours. They may be playing and jumping around one minute, and sitting alone by a tree the next. Grieving in children isn't normal for adults to witness and we want to cheer them up. This is a time to acknowledge when they are sad and then brainstorm with them what they can do (with your help) to feel better. Always identify with trying to do something good with your child for others.

Parents should always answer questions and tell their children the truth. However, wait for the question and answer in simple ways that are age appropriate for your child. Grief takes time and if you are worried your child is not working through their grief, take them to their pediatrician and work with someone they suggest for emotional support. When bad things happen the greatest source of encouragement comes from mom and dad and family.

Mary Jo Rapini, MEd, LPC, is a licensed psychotherapist and co-author with Janine J. Sherman, of Start Talking: A Girl's Guide for You and Your Mom About Health, Sex or Whatever. Read more about the book at www.StartTalkingBook.com and more about Rapini at www.maryjorapini.com.

 

                                                                          

Google

ENTER TO WIN AN AMAZON GC IN THE IT'S A MOTHER'S DAY GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to the mothers day giveaway. 

I have teamed up Voiceboks, The Social Media Panel and some great blogs for a Mother’s Day Giveaway.

In celebration of Mother's Day, I am giving away a $30 e-gift card to Amazon.com so you can buy your mom (grandma) or yourself something special. See Rafflecopter for rules.

Check out all of the participating blogs involved in the giveaway HERE.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Social Media Panel and Voiceboks recently released The Blogger’s Survival Guide. The guide is packed with essential information for everyone. From a beginner to a seasoned blogger you will find interesting and helpful material in the book. So pick up a copy today. 

Google

BLOGGERS SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GETTING READY FOR SUMMER GIVEAWAY- 3 WINNERS

Hosted by:

 NYSavingSpecials 

and 

Your Fashion Resource

Come and join us on this great giveaway

"Getting ready for Summer"

We will have 3 winners, all prizes will be ordered and shipped from Toysrus.com

Prize #1 Any bike up to $150 (kids or adult/Safety accessories not included)

Prize #2 Step2-Touring-Wagon-Functions Value $119 (if not available winner can pick another wagon up to $119)

Prize # 3 Scooter up to $80 (Safety accessories not included)

Here are the details to sign up:

-Free Link (Twitter or Pinterest)  

The first 50 bloggers to sign up will get a link free with announcement. 

Announcement is require or you have to pay a waver fee of $5.00

Please get your announcement here.

(Please read the sign up form on the top to know if we still have free space available)

-Link/ or extra links $4.00 each (if the free spots are gone, to be part of this giveaway you will need to pay $4.00 for each link you want on the giveaway)

Announcement is require or you have to pay a waver fee of $5.00.

Please get your announcement here.

-Co-Host $20.00

The co-host get 2 host page.  

10 links on the RC.

No announcement require.

Please send payment to melisurveys1978@gmail.com as a gift.

Sign up here

Google

REVIEW OF THE KEURIG OFFICE PRO (B145) COMMERCIAL SINGLE CUP COFFEE MAKER

When ever I walk in to my local bank, I have the opportunity to use their Keurig machine. The coffee tastes great and I have always wanted one for home. So when I had the opportunity to review the Keurig OfficePRO model 145 offered by Staples, I was so happy. Let me tell you about the machine.

• Choice of 3 cup sizes (6 oz., 8 oz. and 10 oz.)
• Easy cleaning and refilling with removable 48 oz. water reservoir
• Keurig commercial grade brewers generally brew about 10 times the volume of a typical home brewer
• Auto-off turns brewer off after 2 hours
• Heavy gauge materials for high volume use
• Travel mug friendly
• Drip tray is removable
• MY K-CUP® is not compatible with the OfficePRO brewer
• Included mix of different roasters and top selling varieties of coffee, tea and hot cocoa. 
• The ability to drain the unit for storage.

My Thoughts:
 
The OfficePro is affordable and includes a 12 K-Cup sampler pack and easy to read instructions so setting up the machine was easy. Keurig is known for its unique and contemporary styling  that will fit in any office or kitchen and it looked great in my house. When I took it out of the box, it felt very sturdy, well made and was packed securely in the box. I was also sent a 18 pack of Tully's Hawaiian blend medium roast coffee to try.There are so many varieties of K-Cups to try so you will be sure to find your favorite at Staples.com.


It is much larger than a typical coffee maker but it fit well on my counter. Using the unit is very easy and all you have to do is pop in a K cup, close the lid, select your size cup and hit brew. The Office Pro is very loud and produces a vibration but it only lasts for approx forty seconds. So if you want to use the unit at home and do not want to wake up your family then another Keurig model will be better for you. My friend owns the B75 Model and it is quieter than this unit and has a larger reservoir. I tried the Hawaiian Blend on the 10 ounce setting and it tasted great every time. It was full bodied and not bitter tasting like some other coffees. 

If you want to store the unit for an extended period of time it has a great drain feature so you can remove the water from the internal heater tank and prevent mildew from growing in the tank. This feature is not available on the consumer models.

I have tried the unit 2 x day for two weeks now and I am very impressed with the unit except for the sound when it brews. There is a multiple use reusable filter (My K-Cup) that is available for all of the consumer models and is not available for the commercial models such as the OfficePRO. The OfficePRO ($129.99) is priced $50 less than the less noisy B75 model and produces a great cup of coffee.
 
Google

REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY OF THE NEW SOFT SCRUB 4- IN - 1 TOTAL CARE BATHROOM CLEANER

Tired of that nasty ring in your toilet, then give Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care a try! I know that you have tried other brands of bowel rim hangers and found that they dissolved too quickly, did not stay in place and just did not work. The 4-in1 rim hanger did not move when flushed, has a great smell that is not over powering and kept my toilet cleaner than other brands.

the plastic cage keeps the product in place  and it is activated with each flush. I have used the toilet bowel cleaner for about 2 weeks now and I am impressed on how well it works. The toilet was cleaner and there was less of a toilet ring seen. The toilet bowel cleaner can be purchased at Walmart and costs less than $2.00.

CONTESTS:

1. You could win $1000 and a years supply of Soft Scrub coupons in the Soft Scrub Brighter Bowl Sweepstakes.  
2. Enter below to win a coupon to try the Soft Scrub Toilet Bowl Cleaner. Contest ends on 4/30/13 @ 11:59pm EST and open to USA/Can only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Google