Resources
For Kids & Their Caretakers
What is Trauma-informed?
Calming Resources
My Mentors
Calm down with Teacher Brittany
Balloon breathing
Light the candle and…blow it out!
It’s so hot! Let’s blow on it!
All bodies are GOOD
Other resources
If you are mourning a loved pet or person, I am so sorry for your loss. Here is a list of resources on how to talk to your kids about death. You know your child best, so as always, tailor it to your family’s needs and understanding.
1. Sesame Street Episode: "Goodbye Mr. Hooper"
2. Be Honest And Concrete: Tips For Talking To Kids About Death (discusses the Sesame street episode) –By Anya Kamentz and Cory Turner of NPR
3. "How to Talk to Kids About Death" – The Child Development Institute
4. "The Do's and Don'ts of Talking With a Child About Death" –Dr. Deborah Serani, Psy PhD
Come sing with my YouTube mini-series for kids: The Moonshadow Show! It is a deeply heartfelt show inspired by Mr. Rogers and made single-handedly by me and my husband, Matt!
In each 10-minute episode, we talk transparently through four tough issues that kids face today: pronouns, making mistakes, anxiety and the 2020 pandemic (which so many kids have reverberating trauma from). It’s trauma-informed music peppered with Spanish phrases and tailored for ages 3-9 years old.
For a screen-free experience, find the season album on Apple Music and Spotify!
Dr. Becky is a Clinical Psychologist, Mom of 3, #1 NYT bestselling author, TED speaker, podcast host, and founder of Good Inside.
A Video Just For You
Contact me with any issue you are having with your kiddo. I will create a personalized video that will hopefully help you and your child work through it together in a gentle, steady way, to the best of my ability.
“Teacher Brittany created a custom video to remind my daughter that the car seat keeps her safe and then played her favorite song as a reward. That was brilliant!!! ”
What is Trauma-Informed?
Dear caretakers, my goal is to offer you resources that might help with the tough moments when caring for your children. I am certified in level two of Trauma-informed Leadership with the Community Resilience Initiative (read more here) and level one as a Trusted Adult (read more here). As a result of my training and relationships with these institutions, I have learned that we can actually heal trauma and relieve stress through music, movement and imagination. Isn’t that remarkable!
A note about my Spanish: I am a guest in the language–a gringa–who has held a deep love for hispanic cultures since I was a young teen. I studied abroad in Madrid and then lived in Washington Heights (NYC) for 7 years where daily my fluency brought me closer to my neighbors. It is a fervent passion of mine to share basic phrases through music so that we all might better welcome and befriend our Spanish-speaking community members.
If you are learning español with your little one, check out podcasts and workshops with “Spanish with Sandy.” She is awesome and a native speaker with littles who are learning at home too!
My Mentors
Here is a list of my sources and mentors. I would love to hear from you if you’d like to recommend a resource or workshop in social emotional learning or trauma-informed care!
The greatest influence on my teaching style was at Kids At Work–one of the first spaces in NYC to establish interactive classes for toddlers with art, free play, music, and outdoor fun all through the gentle approach of Reggio Emilia. I found a home there beside Teachers Raquel, Julie and Stephanie, two of whom have their degrees in early childhood development and elementary psychology. This was my starting place and I am forever grateful for the beautiful songs and gentle communication skills that I learned while there.
Community Resilience Initiative – I have taken two full-day workshops with their keynote speaker and trainer, Rick Griffin, and have a regular mentorship with the director of community engagement, Becky Turner. Her sharing with me her experiences in social services–particularly with reintegration for formerly incarcerated adults–has deeply informed my approach.
Trusted Adult Training – Kathleen Donaldson (BS) and Lucianne Hackbert (PHD) with Teresa Posakony have developed a calm and connected toolkit for adults to help build trust with the youth in their lives. My full-day training in Yakima with the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) empowered me with the science proving how impactful music can be for helping our youth be resilient to trauma.
The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D – This book helped begin a new wave of PTSD research in veteran soldiers, victims, of sexual assault and children with experiences of high trauma. Below is one of my favorite passages. Van Der Kolk is writing of a personal experience in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1997 where he encounters a group of women who are victims of rape, all of them completely despondent and unresponsive and then…
“Then one of the women started to hum, while gently swaying back and forth. slowly a rhythm emerged; bit by bit other women joined in. Soon the whole group was singing, moving, and getting up to dance. It was an astounding transformation: people coming back to life, faces becoming attuned, vitality returning to bodies. I made a vow to apply what I was seeing there and to study how rhythm, chanting and movement can help to heal trauma.” (p. 216)