Love heals. We go forward with the fresh insight that the past can no longer hurt us.
– bell hooks

Janet Lansbury, in an article, “The Most Powerful Way to Love a Child,” on her website, writes:

“Connecting soul to soul with our children comes easily in the good times when we’re sharing a laugh or perhaps appreciating their latest triumph, when we might lock eyes and quietly acknowledge: ‘Wow, that was so hard for you, but you did it all yourself.’ (That response tends to be much more encouraging than a static ‘Good job’ stamp of approval, because it feels more intimate and genuine.)

“Far more challenging for us is to see our children when they need the reassurance of our connection most – when their feelings or behaviors aren’t so pretty and might even trigger emotional reactions in us. But it is in these uncomfortable, painful and, sometimes, shameful moments that I believe our children have the most acute need to feel seen and accepted.”

The Out of the Box Training, “Classrooms As the Root of Challenging Behaviors,” helps educators find ways to adapt classroom environments and revise teaching practices to reduce behaviors we find challenging and foster positive development. The training helps educators reinterpret challenges to find the need underneath the triggering behavior.