Fishful ThinkingHelping Parents & Educators Raise

Optimistic Kids

October 20, 2011

The 5 Ingredients

Optimism Emotional Awareness Goal Setting / Hope

Resilience Empowerment

Optimism

Optimism is the skill of focusing on the positive

– without denying the negative.

Channel one’s energy toward what is

controllable.

Expect good things to happen and work toward

creating positive change.

Parents - create an environment that fosters

positive emotions and the belief in possibilities.

Emotional Awareness

Identify and express feelings

Have empathy for what others are feeling.

It’s the building block of a healthy emotional life.

Children have an easier time connecting with others

Parents - help your children express their feelings in healthy ways and learn how to

cope.

Goal Setting / Hope Hope isn’t passively wishing and waiting for

something to happen.

Hope drive to set & pursue goals, take risks and initiate action

Hope fuels problem-solving

Helps children develop personal strengths and social resources

Parents - teach your children how to set positive goals develop a system of appropriate rewards promote strategies of thinking

Resilience Resilience is the ability to bounce back from setbacks

Learn from failure

Be motivated by challenges

Believe in one’s own abilities to deal with the stress and difficulties in life

Critical to a child’s overall success in life - it can be learned

Parents - talk to your children in ways that build their ability to thrive no matter what

life puts in their path.

Empowerment

Empowerment (or self-efficacy) is the belief in

one’s self

Believe that they are effective in the world

Have learned their strengths and weaknesses

Dream big - because they believe in their capacity

to work for their dreams.

Parents – can help build a sense of competence

and mastery.

For More Information:

http://www.nasponline.org/families/fishful/index.aspx

http://www.fishfulthinking.com/FishfulThinking/WhatIs