Join Carla Naumburg, a licensed clinical social worker and author of bestselling parenting books, as she dives into her latest work crafted for kids. She discusses the importance of acknowledging emotional freakouts and how they foster development. With her memorable FART acronym, she breaks down coping mechanisms and introduces the playful 'Safety Squirrel' to explain emotional responses. Carla shares mindfulness tips parents can use to help their children navigate feelings and highlights the magic of compassion and humor in family dynamics.
Carla Naumburg's new book provides kids with playful tools to understand and manage their emotions through fun visuals and relatable content.
The FART acronym serves as a framework for recognizing typical emotional freakouts, helping individuals understand and manage their responses better.
Self-compassion is vital for coping with emotional challenges, encouraging a kinder response to oneself during difficult moments rather than harsh self-judgment.
Deep dives
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Understanding and Managing Freakouts
Freakouts are typically characterized by an emotional reaction that can feel automatic and reactive, often triggered by seemingly minor events. The acronym FART encapsulates key elements of a freakout: feelings that drive the response, the automatic nature of the reaction, the fact that it's often a reaction to something, and behaviors that can be seen as excessive. Recognizing that everyone experiences freakouts provides a framework for understanding and managing these intense emotional responses. This acknowledgment also fosters empathy and compassion, both for oneself and for others undergoing similar struggles.
The Importance of Self-Compassion
Self-compassion plays a crucial role in how individuals respond to their own mistakes and challenges. The idea is to treat oneself with the same kindness and understanding that one would extend to a friend facing difficult circumstances. Practicing self-compassion helps to break the cycle of harsh self-judgment that many people experience during stressful situations, allowing for a more balanced perspective and emotional healing. This shift in mindset ultimately leads to healthier coping strategies and reduces the likelihood of engaging in negative behaviors during moments of distress.
Strategies for Calming Down: The Burps
Button Reduction Practices, or 'burps,' are strategies designed to help individuals manage their buttons, which refer to their emotional sensitivity. These practices, which range from breathing exercises to mindful noticing, aim to reduce emotional triggers and foster a sense of calm. Examples include engaging with fun and silly activities that offer a release of pent-up energy and tension. The diverse range of burps encourages experimentation and allows individuals to find what works best for them, demonstrating that self-care can be both effective and enjoyable.
Promoting Emotional Health in Kids
Addressing children's emotional health is essential, and accessible resources can help achieve this goal. The newly released book, aimed at middle-grade readers, provides engaging insights into managing emotions and navigating stressful situations. Parents are encouraged to create an environment that makes these resources available to children without direct pressure, allowing kids to explore emotional health at their own pace. By integrating fun visuals, quizzes, and relatable content, the book fosters curiosity and encourages children to engage with their feelings in a constructive way.
Carla introduces us to her new book, 'How to Stop Freaking Out', which is written specifically for kids, and talks about how a mix of compassion and humor can make all the difference.
Whether you're a parent looking for ways to stay calm or a kid trying to understand your own feelings, Carla shares practical tips and fun mindfulness techniques that you can learn and introduce to your family in a gentle and impactful way.
Give it a listen and discover how you can bring more calm and connection to your family. You never know—you might just find the perfect strategy to make those daily challenges a little easier!
Listen and Learn:
How Carla turned her hit advice for parents into a playful, illustrated guide for kids
Why kids’ emotional freakouts are not only normal but essential for their development
The four core features of a freakout using Carla’s FART acronym
The "Safety Squirrel": a playful way to explain the brain’s fight, flight, freeze, and freak-out responses
How the simple act of "noticing" can gently guide your mind out of a freakout
How to help your child recognize their emotional "buttons" and guide them with compassionate strategies to navigate their big feelings
Playful strategies that you as a parent can experiment with to turn challenging moments into opportunities for growth and connection
Self-compassion for kids and how this can help them handle tough times better
Clara’s clever way to introduce her book 'How to Stop Freaking Out' to your kids without them feeling pressured and making them eager to explore it
Carla Naumburg, PhD, LICSW is a clinical social worker and the author of five books, including the bestselling How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids and its forthcoming middle-grade companion How to Stop Freaking Out. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, CNN, and Mindful Magazine, among other places. Carla lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters.