Cardinal Family Newsletter
It's A Great Day to Be a Cardinal!
December 2-6
Dear Parents and Guardians,
December has arrived! I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing Thanksgiving break. Only three weeks until winter break and the end of second quarter. December is a busy month, preparing for the holidays, basketball games, field trips and winter concerts. With December sometimes comes inclement weather. Please make sure your final forms are updated so you can receive any messages should there be delays or closings.
On a different note. For the month of December we will be focusing on the character trait of self-control. Encourage your child to practice self-control at home and when you see them displaying the trait in different settings, make sure to notice and compliment them.
Have a great week and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Mrs. Hiler
Mark Your Calendars
December 16th- Middle School Field Trip
December 18th - Winter Concert
December 20- End of 2nd Quarter
December 23-January 6- Winter Break
Teaching Self-Control to Teens
When a 2-year-old throws a tantrum, she relies on her parents to soothe her and teach her that tantrums are unacceptable. But when a teen loses control, society is not always so forgiving. We hold teenagers to a higher standard of self-control and expect them to calm themselves down.
One of the most important skills you can teach your daughter or son is self-control. It is a survival skill. Adults who can master their own emotions and responses often enjoy successful professional and personal relationships.
Ironically, learning self-control often grows out of conflict. So the next time you find yourself locking horns with your teen, take consolation in the fact that it's a perfect teaching moment.
Children must learn that negative, aggressive and dishonest behaviors are unacceptable. They will model their behavior after your behavior. If you become agitated and angry while talking with or disciplining your teen, he or she will do the same. Eventually, the exchange will escalate into a painful argument that ends only when either you or your teen walks out.
If your teen responds to your efforts to correct his or her behavior by "blowing up" and refusing to do what you ask, then you need to teach self-control.
In teaching self-control, parents must help their children identify their feelings and learn appropriate ways to deal with these feelings.
Parental Guidance to Teaching Self-Control
Calming Down : In this step, both you and your teen take a "time-out" to let your emotions settle down.
- Describe the problem behavior.
- In a calm voice, briefly tell your teen what he is doing wrong. For example, "John, you are yelling at me."
- Be clear and specific. Do not use vague or judgmental statements, and don't resort to name-calling.
- Use empathy, which shows your teen that you really do care about his feelings. Use statements like, "I understand that you are upset."
- Give clear instructions
- Tell your teen exactly what he needs to do to begin calming down. For example, "Take a few deep breaths and try to calm down."
- Keep your words to a minimum. Resist the urge to repeat yourself. Teenagers interpret this as nagging.
- Allow time to calm down and remain calm yourself. (This is the most important step. By remaining calm yourself, your teen will calm down faster.)
- Give your teen permission to leave the situation in order to calm down.
- Time alone gives your teen an opportunity to decide if he wants to continue his inappropriate behavior or calm down.
- Periodically check in with your teen, asking questions like, "Can we talk about what happened?"
Follow-up Teaching : Begin this step only when your teen can respond to your request to talk in a calm voice.
- Describe what your teen could do differently next time. This step helps you teach your teen how to substitute appropriate behaviors for inappropriate ones.
- Use "instead of" phrases like, "Instead of slamming the door, please tell me you are angry and ask if you can go to your room to calm down."
- Ask your teen to talk with you about what triggered his anger.
- Have your teen practice what he or she can do next time. (Now that your teen knows what to do, he has to learn how to do it.)
- Role-play, acting out a potentially volatile situation. Let your teen demonstrate how he should respond.
- Offer your teen feedback, stating what he did correctly and what needs improvement.
- Give a consequence: This is critical because consequences are what help change behaviors.
- An appropriate negative consequence lets your teen know he cannot lose control when he does not get his way.
It is often difficult to remain cool and calm in an emotional situation like an argument. But it is very important to use a soft tone of voice, show empathy toward your teen and avoid any type of physical exchange. It is also important not to let your teen sidetrack the discussion into an argument about issues that are not related to the immediate issue. For example, if your teen has missed his curfew, that is the only issue you should address. Don't let your teen draw you into an argument about how unfair he thinks his curfew is compared to his friends' curfews.
Your teen will not learn self-control overnight. As you teach, look for small, positive changes over time, and praise your teen when he makes progress. Congratulate yourself for breaking the argument cycle, which can harm the relationship you have with your child.
Thriving Learning Communities
Final Forms
If you and/or your child haven't had the opportunity to complete your final forms please try to update them as soon as possible.
Box Tops
Charge the Chromebooks!
Please make sure your child gets in the habit of charging their chrome books each evening. It is important that they come to school prepared and the chrome books are as important to class as bringing paper and pencils. They will need their computers to fully participate in instruction in most classes.
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To Contact Me
email- hilert@felcityschools.org
Phone- 513-362-5382