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When Parents Are Away: Supporting Children of Emergency Personnel

When parents are called to their workplaces during an emergency, they often entrust their children to family members, friends or childcare professionals. Learn how basic strategies from Conscious Discipline can help these caregivers provide essential safety and comfort during this difficult experience.

Healthy attachment can make the difference between a difficult experience and a traumatic one. Become a healthy, attuned source of comfort for these distressed children and babies.

Parents from many professions are called to duty during times of crisis like COVID-19. Sometimes, these parents work long, unpredictable hours and rely on childcare professionals to care for their children. Sometimes parents may not return to their families for weeks due to necessity or the risk of transmitting the disease home from their jobs.

Conscious Discipline Certified Instructor Abbi Kruse is the owner and director of The Playing Field, and is also the mother of two nurses on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. Learn from Abbi’s professional training and personal experiences as she cares for her granddaughters while Mom is away. Discover reassuring, immediately usable strategies to connect, protect and soothe the children of essential personnel while their core source(s) of attachment are away.

Webinar Outline

  • 00:06 Introduction of topic and Abbi Kruse
  • 01:29 Why separation is so difficult for children and how to provide a buffer
  • 03:30 How do you respond to upset?
  • 05:00 Video Example: Abbi responding to granddaughter’s upset
  • 06:28 What children need in moments of upset
  • 07:55 My state regulates the child’s state
  • 08:17 About babies
  • 09:23 About older children
  • 10:07 Video Example: Visual Schedule
  • 12:49 Predictability provides a sense of safety
  • 13:23 Adding novelty and balance within the routine
  • 14:18 Examine your triggers
  • 15:00 Set a daily time for questions about coronavirus
  • 16:10 Shift from “missing” the parent to “remembering” or “thinking about”
  • 17:23 Story Hand
  • 18:08 Video Example: Story Hand for Missing Mommy
  • 18:56 Conclusion and thank you

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Abbi Kruse

Abbi Kruse

Conscious Discipline Certified Instructor

Abbi is the founder and Executive Director of The Playing Field, an early childhood program serving children experiencing homelessness right alongside those from far more advantaged families. Prior to this role, Abbi served in a variety of ECE settings including the University of Wisconsin Preschool Lab, Head Start, and community based programs.

More about Abbi Kruse