Gina Biegel shares skills for staying positive, reducing stress and living your best life

The Glenbard Parent Series: (GPS) Navigating Healthy Families will presented Take in the Good: Skills for Staying Positive, Reducing Stress and Living Your Best Life with Gina Biegel for two programs on Wednesday, Feb. 15 via Zoom. 

Whether young people encounter sensory overload from electronic devices, cyberbullying or academic pressures, they would benefit from practicing self-care.

Choosing to focus on positive experiences has beneficial lasting benefits. Acquiring skills in mindfulness techniques will help young people feel empowered to take control of their well-being. Making self-care practices part of their routine, teens will discover life-hacks that bring relief during even the toughest days. Biegel’s teaching will help students increase self-esteem and live life with renewed hope and enthusiasm.

Biegel is a psychotherapist, researcher, speaker and author who specializes in mindfulness-based work with adolescents. She is founder of Stressed Teens, which offers mindfulness-based stress reduction for teens and author of several books, including “Be Mindful & Stress Less.”

Video of this event HERE

Takeaway

Assistant Principal of Student Services Debra Cartwright co -hosted the event and shared the following takeaway:

"Stress is our body responding to a threat or demand -it provides us with information, something is not the way it should be. Next identify the best way to support yourself, utilize healthy resources (gratitude, letting go, music, spending time with positive people exercise, asking for help, self care-it is not selfish).  Mindfulness is noticing your thoughts, and feelings in the present moment without harmful judgement-giving us time to pause-reflect, rather than react.  We get to choose where we put our attention. We can train/change our brain by tilting our attention to positive experiences. Where attention goes energy flows. Even in the hardest moments, remember to let your child know they are loved every day, give them the benefit of the doubt. Help them feel safe, secure, connected, and that they are enough. Love is not conditional".

Resources

Stressed Teens web site: HERE

Stressed Teens Toolbox:  HERE

U.S. News article with Gina Biegel: Managing High School Stress HERE

Mindful Kids Peace Summit interview with Gina Biegel of Stressed Teens VIDEO HERE

Dr. Catherine Newman discusses essential skills for young people at Feb 8 GPS events

 

The Glenbard Parent Series: (GPS) Navigating Healthy Families presented Essential Communication and Life Skills: A Kid's Guide to Growing Up with author Catherine Newman in two webinars on February 8, via Zoom. 

Dr. Catherine Newman, witty parenting writer and etiquette columnist, provided adults with tips and advice to nudge children into independence and teach them how to master chores, express themselves clearly and behave generously toward others. 

Newman has authored novels, nonfiction and articles about children, parents, teenagers and relationships. She is the etiquette columnist at Real Simple and the academic department coordinator of the Creative Writing Center at Amherst College.

Dr Newman shared the habits and skills we need to teach our children, and practice ourselves:

• Look up, and put the phone down. 
• Teach your child to be curious about others and lean into your curiosity about them. 
• Pay attention -think about what it feels like when someone is really listening.
• Give everyone the benefit of the doubt, assume the best, give others the space to make a mistake.
• Get good at compromising. Other people are different than you. 
• Problem solve rather than battling it out. Practice saying 'maybe I was wrong'. Cultivate an attitude of helpfulness, be your most generous self. You will make mistakes, apologize and move forward. The parent-child relationship 
• Your child is always growing, and changing -practice flexibility. Work to build trust, your relationship is more important than being right.

The full-length video of this event can be found on our YouTube channel HERE

TAKEAWAY

Glenbard Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Josh Chambers co -hosted the event and shared the following takeaway:

"Dr Newman shared the habits and skills we need to teach our children, and practice ourselves.

 Be present. Pay attention -think about what it feels like when someone is really listening. Look up, and put the phone down. Teach your child to be curious about others and lean into your curiosity about them. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt, assume the best, and give others the space to make a mistake. Get good at compromising. Other people are different than you. Problem solve rather than battling it out. Practice saying 'maybe I was wrong'. Cultivate an attitude of helpfulness, be your most generous self. You will make mistakes, apologize and move forward. The parent-child relationship child is always growing, and changing -practice flexibility. Work to build trust,your relationship is more important than being right." 

RESOURCES

Catherine Newman’s website HERE

The Morning Books Show: What Can I Say By Catherine Newman HERE