Social Emotional Learning - Parents...this is for you!
Parents, are you wondering what all the talk is about SEL and social-emotional skills? Chances are you’re already doing a lot to support your child with these skills, so keep reading to make additional connections about what it is, why it’s important, and what resources you can turn to if you’re interested in doing more.
Why do youth need social-emotional skills?
Think of a time when your child had a falling out with a friend or a difficult time fitting in socially. Maybe it was a time you received a phone call from the principal as a result of a situation at school, or when your child came home from school sad or upset, or couldn’t sleep because of an incident at school. Or was it a situation where your daughter or son could not finish a group academic project because of a problem with classmates? Unfortunately, youth often have these and other types of negative experiences. Parents are there to help in any way they can, but over the long-term social and emotional skills can minimize the worst of these experiences and make youth’s experiences in life easier to manage. With social-emotional skills, they can establish rewarding relationships with others, maintain meaningful relationships, and handle difficult social situations. They can manage times of high stress, and during times of anger, keep from launching into destructive actions they may regret later.
What are social-emotional skills?
Social-emotional skills are the strategies one has for
managing strong emotions
, navigating relationships, working effectively with others, solving difficult problems, and making responsible decisions. Social-emotional skills pave the way for positive life experiences. When these skills are taught and supported, youth are more likely to
succeed
academically and have a positive attitude toward self and school, and less likely to experience emotional distress and use drugs.
Where and when are they used?
Social-emotional skills are needed and used from early childhood through adulthood. There is never a time they aren’t needed. We use these skills many times a day, navigating sibling and parent-child relationships, friendships, social and academic situations at school, our jobs, and anything we do in our communities. We need them for in-person interactions and even when communicating by phone or email. For example, if a friend texts me about having an extremely bad day, I use my skills for empathizing when responding to her. If I don’t recognize and acknowledge her feelings and instead tell her to “toughen up,” I may not keep that friend.
What’s SEL?
Is it different from social-emotional skills?
SEL stands for social-emotional learning. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, it’s the process by which we learn and apply social-emotional knowledge, attitudes, and skills for understanding and managing emotions, setting and achieving goals, establishing and maintaining relationships, and feeling and showing empathy for others.
As a parent, how can I learn more about this and support it at home and in my kid’s school?
Two ways to support social-emotional development at home are through the
SEL Passport Challenge
and with books. This
reading list
includes books on topics such as friendship, cooperation, bullying, dealing with anger, and problem-solving. For parents and caregivers of children ages two through five, check out this
Sesame Street–Committee for Children
resource on navigating challenges, and if you are a parent of a teen, look into
ParenTeenConnect
to support your teen with real issues at home.
How does SEL help prevent bullying, or to protect kids from abuse?
Bullying thrives in situations where bystanders (those who know about and witness bullying) don’t stand up for those who are being bullied or don’t report the bullying. Students who are bystanders to bullying can use social-emotional skills, such as assertiveness, to stand up to and report bullying when they see it. Because having friends can be a protective factor against bullying, friendship skills are another important social-emotional skill to have.
Safety skills,
confidence, skills for identifying one’s own feelings (for example, recognizing when something someone says does not feel “right”), and assertiveness skills such as refusing and reporting can make the difference in a potential child abuse situation because they build capacity to recognize a situation is not okay, to say “no” and to report it. Although social-emotional skills alone don’t in themselves prevent bullying or child abuse, they’re one of many factors that can affect these types of situations, especially when an adult isn’t present.
If your child’s school hasn’t already reached out to you about social-emotional learning, start a conversation. Ask school staff what they’re doing to promote SEL and how you can get involved. Share what you’re doing to promote SEL with your child at home.
As always, SYFS is here to help. Don't hesitate to call us!
Christine Mowry, Executive Director
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THANK YOU!
The Board of Directors, staff and clients of Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to State Representative Hannah Kane, Tournament Chair Beth Casavant, the Host Committee, The Haven Country Club, and all the generous sponsors, donors, and golfers for their hard work in organizing the
Hannah Kane 5th Annual Charity Classic
that was held on August 19. Despite the heat and late day storms, the golfers enjoyed a day filled with camaraderie as they raised critical funds for three worthy causes. The generosity of the sponsors, donors, and the golfers resulted in three separate donations of $20,000 to our agency, St. Anne’s Human Services, and the Westborough Food Pantry. The donation to SYFS will be used to provide clinical services, positive youth development programming, and prevention and education activities to our community. Mental health needs continue to increase and we are grateful to have such committed, supportive, and generous supporters to help us carry out our mission to provide counseling and other supportive services to members of our community.
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It's clear that vaping has serious health risks so it's no surprise that we are seeing the alarming rise in vaping related lung disease in young people. Two of the primary ingredients found in e-cigarettes, propylene glycol and diacetyl are toxic to cells. E-cigarettes produce a number of dangerous chemicals including acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde. These aldehydes can cause lung disease, as well as cardiovascular disease. School districts across the Commonwealth are faced with this growing epidemic with many districts reporting that the majority of students are using vaping products. More affluent communities report more expensive and easily concealable devices like watches and hoodies being used right in the classroom. A single Juul pod has an amount of nicotine equivalent to a full pack of combustible cigarettes. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance and quite literally trains the adolescent brain for addiction to other substances. We have clients reporting using two to three vape pods per day...that's like a 2-3 pack a day habit! We recognize what years of research and data have told us...punishing people with addiction is not effective. Suspension is not an appropriate way to get kids to stop vaping. To better support our community, SYFS has developed a vaping diversion program which consists of 6 weeks of treatment delivered by a Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor. If your child is struggling to quit vaping, please contact us at (508) 845-6932.
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Grace and Gratitude
Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services, Inc. is proudly sponsored by....
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At SYFS, our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all, early identification and intervention for those at risk, and integrated care and treatment for those who need it, with recovery as the goal. We need YOUR help! If you are a business owner, please consider a Corporate Sponsorship!
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