A Fine Parent

A Life Skills Blog Exclusively For Parents

About Leslie Tralli

When she’s not busy raising her two kids or working in a Toronto bookstore, Leslie Tralli spends her time painting and stitching and cutting and pasting in WhatNut Studio, a tiny art space roughly the size of a walnut. Find her on Instagram @whatsinsidethatnut

Had Enough of Coronavirus Worrying? Here are 10 Creative Ways to Relieve Anxiety

by .
(This article is part of the Coronavirus Support, Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

Main-Image-Anxiety-Crafts.jpgThe world has changed in the space of a few weeks.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused drastic upheaval in our lives, and we are all searching for ways to relieve anxiety during this trying time.

Whether we are in quarantine, imposing self-isolation or practicing safe social distancing in an effort to flatten the curve, we are all struggling to make sense of the greater implications of the worldwide pandemic.

At the same time, we must deal with our day-to-day lives, which in many cases have been completely disrupted as our kids are required to stay home from school and we ourselves may be working from home.

Naturally, we are all stressed and anxious about the health and safety of our loved ones and the long-term social and economic fallout of the pandemic. As our own anxiety and worries clash with those of our children, the home front can quickly become a hotbed of uncertainty, worry, fear and stress.

How can we reduce our family’s stress levels? What can we do with a houseful of worried people and nowhere to go? What are some creative ways to relieve anxiety?

Doing creative activities together as a family is a great way to diffuse some of this anxiety. Art therapy has long been touted as a great stress reliever. Doodling, painting, cutting and pasting have all been shown to lower our cortisol levels, which are a marker of stress. Art can help put us in that meditative state known as the “flow” or “zone,” letting us escape, if only for an hour or so, the relentless anxiety-provoking news cycle.

Here at A Fine Parent, we have put together a list of art projects that you can do with the entire family to help get you through these trying times.

[Read more…]

Five Arts and Crafts Activities That Teach Kids About Gratitude

by .
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

teaching_kids_gratitude-main imageKids take things for granted: the food they eat, the clothes they wear, their toys, trips, extracurriculars.

And why wouldn’t they? For most kids, food appears when they are hungry, there are clothes in the closet, and a list for Santa is an annual tradition.

How do we teach our kids to be grateful, especially for the things they take for granted?

My kids say thank you for meals at dinnertime mainly because it has been drilled into them since they first sat in a highchair: you thank the person who provides you with food. Same with thanking gift-givers and treat providers. “What do you say to Grammie for that baseball?” In fact, teaching please and thank you becomes so ingrained as a parent that you might find yourself, as I often did, catching yourself saying “What do you say…?” before the kids have time to even spit out their thanks.

When my kids were three or four I was so proud of them when they piped out a “thank you” without prompting I’d heave a little internal sigh: at least I’ve done something right as a parent!

But gratitude, as we all know, goes way beyond mouthing thanks for the things we are given.

[Read more…]

Five Arts and Crafts Activities to Teach Kids About Kindness and Compassion

by .
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

kindness-activities-for-kids-main imageKids are naturally selfish – me, me, me and mine, mine, mine. Not surprising: in the early months and years, it is all about them. So how do we teach our kids to think of others and to treat other people with kindness and compassion?

Kindness and compassion are rooted in empathy and stem from the golden rule of treating others how we wish to be treated ourselves.

Some days, though, I can spout the golden rule ‘til the cows come home and yet it feels like it never sinks in. You encourage compassion, you support acts of kindness, and you try your best to demonstrate empathy, and yet five minutes later the kids are arguing over who sets the table more often and wrestling over the Xbox controllers.

“Be nice to your sister!” you say. “Don’t talk that way to your brother!”

“Blah, blah, blah,” is what they hear.

[Read more…]

5 Simple Crafts That Will Help Kids Overcome Back-to-School Anxiety

by .
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

Back-to-School Anxiety MainFor some kids, heading back to school is something to look forward to – the excitement of seeing their friends again, the anticipation of playing on sports teams, and the intrigue of meeting the new teacher. These kids are planning their first-day-of-school outfits and chattering about resuming favorite recess activities.

For some of the other children, the thought of the new school year on the horizon brings not eager enthusiasm but anxiety. And for anxious little ones who are just starting school, the anxiety is even worse: what to expect?

Most kids though will likely feel a little bit of both – excitement on one day, anxiety the next.

How do we help our kids in that second and third category get over the dread of heading back to school? 

Creative activities are a great way to help relieve feelings of stress. Below you will find arts and crafts that are specifically geared towards helping kids get over their back-to-school anxiety. Whether you have a little one just starting school or an older kid returning to school, we’ve got you covered. 

Here take a look –

[Read more…]

How to Build a Creative Practice that will Ease Your Child’s Stress Levels

by .
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

Creativity_for_Stress_Relief_Main_12830379Life seems to get busier and more stressful by the day.

Sometimes, days go by and you realize you haven’t had a chance to sit down and chat and connect with your child in a meaningful way.

Mornings are a rush to get to school, carpooling involves a van full of friends teasing or bickering or lost on their devices, weekends are full of extracurriculars, evenings mean homework, and dinners, while often the best time for connecting, more frequently devolve into complaints about the food and cajoling one more bite.

How do we slow things down, even for an hour?

One answer is to intentionally incorporate creative activities for children into your schedule through simple art projects.

[Read more…]