Building Resiliency for Children Experiencing Homelessness

Real Talk for Real Teachers with Dr. Becky Bailey and special guest Abbi Kruse

Episode Summary

Family privilege is a collection of strengths and supports children gain through healthy, caring primary relationships (Seita, J, 2014) Many children lack the full benefit of these strengths and supports due to factors like insecure attachment, homelessness, uncertain home life, substance abuse, trauma and neglect. The School Family in Conscious Discipline is based on a healthy family model, and builds resilience in children who have experienced trauma and/or lack of family privilege.

In this episode, Abbi Kruse shares her story of creating an early childhood program that builds resilience and School Family-based family privilege for both paying, middle-class families and non-paying families experiencing homelessness. Listen as she describes the impact of her program as it closes the social-emotional gap often embedded in the socio-economic divide. Learn how creating a School Family and shifting your perceptions about challenging children creates an environment of success for all children.

Essential Takeaways

• Building a School Family is essential for the success of all children.
• Seeing behavior as a call for help and connecting with children who struggle helps build resiliency.

Steps For Tomorrow

• Remember that children’s distress and misbehavior is happening in front of you, not to you. Shift your focus from “How do I make this child stop,” to “How do I help this child succeed.” Focus on the child’s need for safety and connection and don’t give up!

Important Links

• The Playing Field
• Connecting Home to the School Family
• Growing Up Without Family Privilege

Product Mentions

• I Love You Rituals
• Creating the School Family
• The NEW Conscious Discipline Book – Expanded & Updated
• Conscious Discipline: Building Resilient Schools and Homes E-Course

Show Outline

• :45  What is Conscious Discipline
• 3:26  Challenges of working with children experiencing homelessness
• 4:59  Strategies for success when working with children experiencing homelessness
• 5:38 Resiliency
• 6:09 Family privilege
• 8:36 Introduction of guest Abbi Kruse
• 10:11 Creation and mission of the Playing Field
• 12:36 Would Conscious Discipline help in a program that serves children experiencing homelessness?
• 13:30 Finding and training staff willing to take on challenging work with preschool children
• 14:41 Success story, child of trauma
• 17:12 Involving the parents of children experiencing homelessness
• 20:36 Bringing in families of privilege to join the program
• 23:15 Child developmental outcomes
• 24:01 Procedures for enrolling children in the Playing Field
• 25:50 Training staff
• 26:52 Suggestions to get started with children who experience homelessness
• 28:09 Getting through the hardest moments when working in a program serving the homeless
• 30:02 Final suggestion for helping a critical problem facing young children
• 31:50 Immediate steps for teachers to take with students who struggle

Thank You for Listening

There are many ways you could have spent this time today, but you chose to spend it with me and I am grateful. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it with others via your favorite social media platforms.

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On behalf of our Conscious Discipline family, we wish you well.