Mood, anxiety level, and social skills contribute to behavior, effectiveness of interactions with others and general sense of competence or well-being.
Behavior | Effective Interactions | Well-being
| Behavior | |
| Help child be aware of how own responses affect other people’s reactions | Restorative Practices in the Classroom Restorative Practice Ideas for the Classroom |
| Teach child to focus on how to repair the problem rather than the problem itself or on who is to blame | |
| When a behavior is inappropriate, provide the child with a more appropriate alternative behavior | Examples:
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| When a child forgets to use a replacement behavior, then teach the child to “pause and rewind” to try again | |
| Effective Interactions | |
| Teach a social skills program (this may be through a counselor, a teacher, or a parent who is receiving guidance) | “Stop and Think” Social Skills program |
| Practice using social skills through playing standard board games to apply cooperation, turn-taking, winning & losing gracefully (playing in teams of 2 may be helpful) | |
| Engage in volunteer work or helping others for a more external focus | |
| Use apps for practicing social skills - | Model Me Kids apps, cues, DVDs |
| Play games that discuss social situations | Teen Sense game What Do You Stand For? cards |
| Provide guidance with social conversation | Buddy and Teen Talk Conversation Cards The Science of Making Friends book & DVD |
| Assist with shyness by pairing with a friend within a larger group setting or allowing the child to visit individually with each person in a group to increase comfort |
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| Well-being | |
| Use techniques to reduce anxiety |
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| Work on gaining control over emotions instead of being controlled by emotions | |
| Resilience can be learned with support and guidance | |