Concord Counseling Updates

With spring upon us and energy in the air, we are reminding children how to recognize bully-like behavior in their own actions and the actions of others. We all make mistake each day and our goal is to learn from our actions and the actions of others.  If behavior is repeated and it makes a person feel hurt, scared or embarrassed, then a cycle of bullying is occurring and needs to be stopped.  In grades k-3 we help the children recognize three types of bully-like behavior:  1.  verbal 2.  physical 3.  emotional In grades 4 and 5 our students are also taught about cyber and gender bullying in addition to the list above. We have discussed the places kids most often observe this kind of  bully behavior.  The kids agree that it is exhibited when an adult is not present in their immediate space, such as recess, on the bus and in the cafeteria.  To address this kind of behavior ...

As school counselors, we are always encouraging our students to talk to people in whom they trust when they have something on their mind that they need to process.  The first person we encourage our students to talk to is you, the parents.  We continually talk about the best opportunities to approach you to start a conversation.  The kids have mentioned that they like to talk to you during meal time, bed time, while driving in the car, when siblings are away, and the weekend... We would encourage you to ask your child, "Is there anything you want to talk about? Do you have any questions for me?"  Remind them in these moments, such as bed time: "This is a good time to talk, if you have any questions," or "You know you can talk to me about anything." Kids process information they inquire about as they are ready to digest.  We would suggest to answer only what they are enquiring about that day; however, there are ti...

Seminars Available for Parents and Educators At West County Psychological Associates 12125 Woodcrest Executive Drive in Creve Coeur Understanding how to help your child become more organized both at home and at school. A Make- it -and -Take -It Workshop! Saturday, February 12 9:00-11:00a.m. $45(includes materials) Presented by Educational Consultants Donna Garcia and Deborah Jordan

If you would like to donate items to our Lindbergh families in lieu of our recent tornado , please take your items to 3915 South Lindbergh, Sunset Hills Community Center. Drop off hours: Monday -Friday 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Sunday 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. For families that lost items due to the tornado, please take proof of residency to 12450 West Watson to pick up items for replacement.  Please call ahead of time before going to the pick up location to make sure service can be given,  314-842-7265. Dana and Velina   Tornado Relief Fundraising Update   Thank you to everyone who donated during our online fundraiser last week to benefit tornado victims in the Lindbergh district. The grand total was $1,771.65 -- all of which will be specifically directed to American Red Cross relief efforts in Fenton, Sunset Hills and Crestwood.   Some people have asked me about sending in additional checks from group fun...

http://www.fema.gov/ http://www.redcross.org/ http://www.ready.gov/ . Helping Children Cope with Disaster This booklet offers parents, caregivers, and other adults suggestions on how to help children cope with the effects of disaster, as well as how to be prepared before a disaster strikes. Helping Children Cope with Disaster Children can feel very frightened during a disaster and afterward some children will show temporary changes of behavior. For most children these changes will be mild, not last long, and diminish with time. However, reminders of what happened could cause upsetting feelings to return and behavior changes to emerge again. Watching scenes of the disaster on television can be distressing for children, especially for younger children. Younger children may return to bed-wetting, have difficulty sleeping, and not want to be separated from their caregivers. Older children may show more anger than usual, find concentrating at school harder, and want to spend more time alo...