Parenting

Purpose is defined as a strong stable sense of commitment to something that is meaningful to you and makes a difference in the world around you. It can be found in all aspects of life and can change over time.Why is purpose important?Purpose increases well being. People with higher levels of...

Gardening season is almost here! It is a great family activity and beneficial to get children interested when they are young. Have you wondered if gardening outdoors with preschoolers would be too challenging? The Illinois Early Learning Project (IELP)...

One of the best ways to lead a happy, healthy, and successful life is to have good self-esteem. As youth are developing socially,        emotionally, and physically, it’s important to develop good self- esteem building habits early on. According to the...

Building social awareness is an important skill that helps individuals accurately understand other people's emotions and empathize with them. Developing empathy is one of the most important skills you can learn to improve your social awareness. Here are a few tips for encouraging youth to be...

What does resilience look like? It’s that process of how we deal with difficult situations or adversity. Life is full of difficulty, such as experiencing loss, stress, anxiety, depression, fear, just to name a few. On the other hand, life also can bring about an abundance of joy, determination,...

Children can get lost in many places. And at this time of year when we are all doing our holiday shopping, there can be an even bigger risk of a child losing their way. This information is from a new tip sheet by the Illinois Early Learning Project...

I do not enjoy cooking. I CAN cook – I just don’t like to. So, my husband and I have been fortunate to be able to eat out at restaurants quite often – when he also chose not to cook. When we had our son, I tried to cook more at home, but we slipped back into that same routine of going out to eat...

Recently, I was supposed to attend a family night at a local preschool where I would work with the youth about what it means to care and be kind to each other. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it at the last minute, but I wanted to share a tip sheet that I was also going to share with the parents....

As the oldest child of three, and also having a child of my own, I can say first-hand that children are going to argue, not get along, and even fight sometimes. When facilitating parenting classes, the topic of how to prevent children’s arguments was brought up often. Fortunately, getting along...

The holiday season is approaching, and many families are feeling the pressure building.  How can everything get accomplished?  Do I have a low-fat recipe for pumpkin pie?  Instead of trying to do it all, set aside a “family night in” to enjoy the season. In previous articles, I have...