SOC100- How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Children: Meeting the FiveCritical Needs of Children - Handout

Welcome to SOC100 This course is designed to introduce students to the five critical needs of emotionally healthy children.

Course Objectives:

By taking notes on the handout and successfully answering assessment questions, participants will meetthe following objectives as a result of taking this course:

List the five needs involved in developing an emotionally healthy childIdentify the causes for failure to meet the emotional needs of childrenIdentify the problems created for children and families when emotional needs are not metIdentify the requirements for succeeding in creating an emotional healthy relationship with children

Note: At two points in this course, participants are expected to reflect and write about topics related totheir own learning and teaching experiences in relation to course content.

References:

Newmark, Ph.D., Gerald, (2008). How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Children: Meeting the Five CriticalNeeds of Children… and Parents Too!

The Children’s Project. http://emotionallyhealthychildren.org/

Critical Need One – Need To Feel Respected

List the five critical needs all children, all ages have in common:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Critical Need Two – The Need To Feel Important

Define feeling important:1 of 4

Define feeling important:

Critical Need Three - Need To Feel Accepted

Critical Need Four - Need To Feel Included

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Critical Need Five - Need To Feel Secure

In Summary

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Activities List

Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Game Instructions: The group of children sings the song while touching the body parts as they are named. Head and shoulders, knees and toes Head and shoulders, knees and toes Eyes and ears and mouth and nose! Head and shoulders, knees and toes KNEES AND TOES! Game Variations: On the first couple repetitions, sing slowly. Then, speed up to make it more challenging. Substitute different body parts. Try: Ears, mouths, pinkies, and elbows; or eyes, bellies, thumbs, and nose. Duck, Duck, Goose!

Game Instructions: Everyone sits in a circle on the floor. One person is the "goose" and the rest are the "ducks." The goose walks around the outside of the circle, patting each duck on the head and saying "Duck." The player touches someone's head and says, "Goose!" The tagged duck gets up and chases the goose around the circle. The goose tries to get back around to the empty seat and sit down before being tagged. If successful, the goose rejoins the seated ducks and the new goose now starts the game again. Game Variations: This game can be played indoors or out, but if you're inside, make sure the room is safe for running kids. Try different animals and practice their sounds and walks while playing. What Time Is It, Mister Fox?

Game Instructions: Gather everyone on one side of the space and the adult (Mister Fox) stands on the other side. The adult gives a signal and the kids say, "What time is it, Mister Fox?" Mister Fox says, "It's time to hop!" The kids hop toward Mister Fox until he gives the signal to stop. Repeat this, substituting different movements (skipping, crawling, walking backwards) until kids draw near to Mister Fox. As the kids near Mister Fox and ask the question, the last answer he gives is "It's midnight!" At this point, he pretends to chase them all back to the other side of the room. The game can then start again. Game Variations: Choose a child to be Mister Fox! Change the animal to Sleepy Bear, Grouchy Grandma, Big Baby, or another character

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