Situation
When your youngest child begins to act out to get attention because of sibling rivalry, as a parent or caregiver you may become as frustrated as the children do.

Solution

• Open up the ABC Feelings Storybook and go to a quiet place and both you and the children can practice taking deep breaths and relax.
• Go to the section for “U” – unique, and begin learning as a family we do not all have to agree with one another.
• Show the children that we each see something through a different set of eyes (our own eyes) and in our own way.

Situation
You learn right before school begins that your 10-year old is overly anxious about going to a new school. She is disappointed that her best friend will not be in her new class.

Solution

• Take out the ABC Feelings Learning/Coloring Book and go to the section that describes the feeling of being   ‘disappointed’. Discuss times that you might have been disappointed and how it turned out positive in the end.
• You may also visit the word ‘anxious’ and discuss this in the same manner.
• Spend some time talking about opposite feelings and let them discover for themselves how to tackle this new situation.

Situation
Your middle child of 3 becomes jealous of her brother and starts jumping up and down throwing a tantrum at his birthday party. She wants people to pay attention to her too and is feeling like she’s not as special as her brother is.

Solution

• Scoop your daughter up in your arms and sit them down with the other child. Go over to the ABC Feelings Poster and point out ‘N’ for ‘naughty’. Talk back and forth about how both feel.
• Talk with your middle child about the letter ‘L’ for ‘love’ and teach them that love is healthier than feeling jealous.

Situation
You have the entire family ready to enjoy a family outing and one child becomes bored for lack of something to keep them occupied.

Solution

• Hand the child a Black/White Placemat with some crayons/markers and have them color the placemat. This can then be used on top of the picnic table and could easily cause other attending children to want to interact with the bored or lonely child.

Situation
As parents, you have just returned from having a day at the toy store. Upon returning to the house, your children begin bickering about who is going to play with which toy.

Solution

• The ABC Feelings Dictionary with Journal is a perfect problem solver in this instance as the children can be directed to study the word argumentative and/or angry.
• Have the children then write in the journal area about how each one feels and then compare notes.

Situation
Are you having trouble getting your children to want to be helpful with chores around the house/apartment?

Solution

• Take the ABC Feelings Flashcards and study the flashcard “H” for helpful – teach them that being useful with a task can be fun.
• Have fun making cookies with the children and then they can go to the ABC Feelings Dictionary/Journal and write about the great time they have all had being helpful.
• Talk about the word ‘Exhausted’ and see if they are not wanting to be helpful because of this.

Situation
You have a stepson or stepdaughter and they have problems telling you, the new parent, or others the truth. Often he/she fabricates reality in order to get attention.

Solution

• It is possible that if your stepchild learns that to feel important or special that they will see the value in telling the truth.

• Show them how to do something outstanding such as gardening with you for the first time. This will lead to greater communication between the two of you.

Situation
The family has had to make a major change by moving and/or a divorce may have occurred. Stress is a number one problem for children acting out.

Solution

• Get an Activity Kit which has a great many ABC Feelings products in it and let the children show you which of these are their favorites.
• Study the letter “W” for ‘worried’ and share with them the opposite of worried and give them some information which will bring about the opposite feelings for them.
• Share with them that major changes cause most people to feel out of control but nothing is permanent.

Situation
As a parent how can the ABC Feelings products be helpful when all four of your children become ill at once?

Solution

• Get one of our ABC Feelings Lotto Games out and by following the instructions and going through each of the words – much time will pass and the children will be able to be indoors and relatively still while playing.
• Have the children take turns being the leader and thereby learn the word ‘generous’ because they will learn that you don’t always have to be playing – you can be leading.
• Study the word ‘yucky’ and let each of them share how feeling yucky causes one to walk or hold their body in a different way.
• Allow them to think about times when they or someone they know felt yucky.

Situation
You, as a daycare worker, have a class full of children being disrupted by a couple of children who do not want to settle down at nap time.

Solution

• Play one of the Audio Tapes/CDs from the ABC Feelings product line and have them sit still and listen to the tape.
• Tell the children that once naptime is over, they can share with one another what they got out of listening to the songs and/or stories.
• Teach the children the words to the songs on the audios.