August 2023: How Will Coping Skills Help My Child Be a Stronger Student and a Kinder Friend?
August 2023: How Will Coping Skills Help My Child Be a Stronger Student and a Kinder Friend?
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Coping skills, simply put, are behaviors we choose when handling a feeling associated with a situation. Coping skills can be unhealthy or they can be healthy. Coping strategies can be safe or they can be unsafe.
At Erie Elementary School, we explore healthy coping behaviors, in all K-5 classrooms, through a variety of lessons around peer relationships, perspective taking, academic challenges and struggles, emotional regulation, understanding choice, advocating for personal needs, positive self-talk, etc.
One of the best ways for students to learn coping skills is through observing the adults in their lives. How does my adult handle stress, anger, frustration, boredom? What does my adult do to maintain a level of calm?
It's important to remember that emotions are not the enemy. Emotions have an important job to help us experience and categorize an event. It's okay to experience all feelings. It's how we react to those feelings that matters. How do we handle mad, sad, angry, excited, nervous? Is my reaction healthy and safe?
Unhealthy coping
Unhealthy coping
Hitting, screaming, throwing things, ignoring
Healthy coping
Healthy coping
Breathing, taking a break, talking-it-out, making a plan, looking at a problem from a new perspective, considering your choices, identifying and naming feelings, asking for help, thinking positively
Maintaining a level of calm
Maintaining a level of calm
The best way to prepare yourself for handling times of stress, is to do what brings you joy on a daily basis. These are activities that boost your self-esteem, help you feel connected, give you purpose.
riding bikes, getting outside, reading a good book, playing board games, building with Legos, digging in the dirt, etc
When we have strong coping skills, we create lasting friendships. Strategies like emotional regulation, perspective taking and thinking positively allow us to respond kindly and calmly to challenges in all relationships. We think before we speak to ensure that our words will be constructive. We assume best intentions and don't jump to negative conclusions when assessing the behaviors of others. We can more easily handle teases because we feel confident in who we are. We are more able to let things go and be flexible in our thinking. These qualities make us easy friends.
When we have strong coping skills, we readily practice strategies that will help us access our learning. We know how to stay focussed. We create plans and set goals and we ask for help when we need to.
Resources for a better understanding of coping skills
Resources for a better understanding of coping skills
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