Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids Project

We all want to help our kids thrive, but sometimes it’s hard to know how. When you run into parenting challenges, having reliable guidance to turn to can make a big difference.

The Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids Project is a series of 20 free videos that feature more than 150 caregivers, kids, and experts talking about some of the most pressing, confusing, and challenging questions that parents face. With support from California Governor Gavin Newsom, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and the Department of Health Care Services, these videos are designed to help every parent and caregiver in California and beyond support their kids’ mental health fitness and self-esteem in today’s stressful world.

The series is organized into four categories, each containing multiple videos. Each video has been created in both English and Spanish. Ver episodios en español ▸

For each video topic, you’ll also find a downloadable learning guide with tips, tools, and suggestions for additional evidence-based resources and programs that may help you and your family.

You may start with the Self-Care and Parent-Child Relationships videos here.

How Unconditional Positive Regard Can Help Make Students Feel Cared For

As a teacher, I know how important it is to create clear expectations for my students and hold them to high standards. This also applies to me as I seek to build relationships with my students. The high standards I hold myself to in building teacher-student relationships come from my guiding philosophy: unconditional positive regard. This approach helps ground my equity-centered and trauma-informed work.

How to Handle Tantrums and Meltdowns

“The first thing we have to do to manage tantrums is to understand them. That is not always as easy as it sounds, since tantrums and meltdowns are generated by a lot of different things: fear, frustration, anger, sensory overload, to name a few. And since a tantrum isn’t a very clear way to communicate (even though it may be a powerful way to get attention), parents are often in the dark about what’s driving the behavior.” This article will help you assess the tantrum, change your behavior in response to the tantrum and model calm.

11 Ways to Encourage Friendship Skills and Social Play

Friendship and social play skills are key capabilities for young kids to develop in the early years of school—they form the foundation of long-term success in school and in the community. In your inclusive classroom, you’ll probably have students who need some extra support to develop and strengthen these skills. Today’s post gives you some tips and activity ideas you can use to promote friendships and encourage social play among children with and without disabilities.

The Feeling Words Game, Great Schools!

Each of these kids has a story to tell about a time they felt something deeply. Watch these videos with your child and see if you can guess which emotions they’re describing.

Big Feelings Play List (Videos)

Playlist from Sesame Street includes 5 videos with Sesame Street characters talking about Exploring Big Feelings, Naming Feelings, Feelings Have Names, Hugging It Out, Singing It Out

3 Brain Break Ideas to Help Students Reset and Refocus

Many educators use brain breaks as a powerful classroom management tool. Research shows that brain breaks allow young minds to reset and recharge. They replenish the attention, motivation, and energy levels needed to keep learning. Students also learn better when lessons are broken up into smaller segments. This is especially true for younger children, whose attention spans are still developing.

Here are three brain-break ideas from leading SEL organizations that you can use in your classroom to help your students refocus and be ready to learn.

Sesame Street in Communities-Especially for Families of Children with Autism

Wearing masks, interacting on video chats, and adjusting to frequent changes in routines—all can be especially tough for children with autism. Here are resources to help children and families cope with the challenges of living in the time of COVID-19.

Sesame Street in Communities-Health Emergencies – Caring for Each other

This set of workshops and activities can benefit families and child care providers as we are transitioning into new routines and more interaction with friends, neighbors and the general public. Changes can be awkward and scary if we don’t talk about what to expect and how we are feeling. These resources alert you to topics and situations that might be addressed to help you and your child adjust to changes. The workshops include instructions for interactive activities, a video to watch with children, articles and activities for kids. Here are some sample workshops that might be helpful:

Feeling Afraid
More People Around
Managing Big Feelings
New Friendships
Flexible Thinking
Flexible thinking helps children adapt to changes and reframe challenges as opportunities.

See the menu of workshop options on the Health Emergencies page

How to Make This Hard Transition Back to School With Your Students

This year, Greater Good Science Center’s education team partnered with California County Offices of Education to support statewide SEL communities of practice through an emergency grant funded by FEMA. Throughout the pandemic, we have networked, shared online SEL resources, and spotlighted districts’ offerings around staff and student mental health. Here are some of the things we have learned from this work with our educator-colleagues—along with some easy-to-implement, research-based practices and activities you can use to foster a stronger sense of collective well-being in your classroom or school.

Positive Parenting, Thriving Kids Project