Self-Reg

Mastering Stress for Children and Parents

Stuart Shanker D.Phil.

Self-Reg and the Joy of Learning

How can we teach children and teens who seem to be unwilling to learn? Educators and school leaders have the knowledge and strategies to become a Self-Reg Haven.

The Power of Paradigms

It is not inherited genes that lead to unalterable outcomes; it is inherited ways of thinking. But a paradigm only loses its grip if a more powerful one emerges.

Looking at ADHD With a Self-Regulation Lens

This distinction between maladaptive and mindful modes of self-regulation is of the utmost importance when working with children with ADHD.

Why Does My Child Hate Math? Part 3

How can we help a child with a kindled math alarm? How can we prevent this from happening in the first place?

Why Does My Child Hate Math? Part 2

Children are going into fight-or-flight at the mere thought of doing math. Self-regulation helps us to understand why this is happening and what we might do about it.

Why Does My Child Hate Math? Part 1

Math shouldn’t be seen as just a tool, or a compulsory subject. It is an enriching mental experience.

When to Push a Child

Self-Reg helps us to understand when and why perseverance turns into something vastly different, with far from salutary effects.

Reframing IQ

When we measure a child’s “intelligence,” the score we arrive at is a product of the interaction between thinking processes and limbic brakes.

Why Is My Child So Mentally Lazy?

Are children and teens “mentally lazy”? Is it a generation that would rather play than study, or one whose “limbic braking system” is affecting their ability to think and learn?

Help, I Don’t Speak Limbic

The better we can recognize which state teens are in—rational or limbic—the better we can understand and respond to what they are saying and doing.

Self-Reg and Holiday Stress: Restoring the Balance

Now more than ever we need to find peace: with each other and not just alone. Our need for peace is as much neurobiological as it is psychological.

The Truth About Lying

Lying is the quintessential example of misbehaviour, but confabulating is a stress behaviour.

Reframing Temperament: “Difficult” vs. “Stressed”

Parents need to understand what their child’s limbic system is “telling” them. And when they’re able, children and teens need to do the same.

“Lumos Solem”: Breaking Free from a Stress Cycle

How do we break out of a stress cycle? Harry Potter holds some clues. Lumos Solem is actually a pretty good motto for this process.

Caught in a Stress Cycle

Stress cycles are impervious to ordinary self-help tips. Like “Devil’s snare”, the more you struggle the harder they grip. So it’s essential to understand when you’re caught in one

Self-Regulation vs. Self-Control

So much of the behaviors we see in children today seems inexplicable until we realize that we are dealing with the effects of excessive stress.

Self-Reg: The Nature of Stress

Self-Reg is a powerful method for understanding stress and managing energy—and it is very different from self-control. We can all break the stress cycle and live successfully.