Casey Davenport, Author at Bright & Quirky

Test anxiety and school refusal

Janine Halloran LMHC, author of The Coping Skills for Kids Workbook and The Coping Skills for Teens Workbook, suggests these calming tips to navigate the situation and get grounded.

How trauma may develop in bright and quirky kids

Did you know that 8 out of 10 bright and quirky adults have experienced trauma?
How does it happen, and how do we avoid a similar fate for our bright and quirky kids?
According to Susan Baum, PhD and Zach Morris, MEd, when a child’s brain wiring doesn’t fit well with the environment they’re in, many moments of incongruity can happen over time that can be potentially traumatizing.
The solution? As Susan states, instead of asking a flower to change its petals, let’s plant it in a different garden.

Social struggles at school?

Coach Maguire shares how to “read the room,” an incredibly useful skill to socially assess a situation and identify your next step toward connection. Find out how the P.E.A.S. acronym can guide your child’s burgeoning awareness.

Is your child over-stressed?

If your bright child is experiencing big emotions or behaviors, ask yourself these questions: What are the signs that your child is becoming over-stressed? What are the root causes triggering their big reaction? How can you, as the grown up, help your child regulate? That’s what our experts Stuart Shanker, DPhil; Mona Delahooke, PhD; Renee Jain, MAPP; and Laura Markham, PhD are digging into in this week’s vlog.

Top Knowledge Nuggets of 2023

Let’s celebrate the most popular quick knowledge nuggets Bright & Quirky’s experts shared in 2023. Here are the top picks!

Anxiety is contagious, but parent modeling helps

Kids are worrying today at epidemic proportions about school, friendships, violence in the world, climate change, and many other things. The sad fact is that anxiety is contagious, so we parents need to manage our own anxiety too. According to Christopher Willard, PsyD, author of Growing Up Mindful, and How We Grow Through What We Go Through, we do that by modeling. Take a listen to find out how.

Are hotdogs sandwiches? And other delights

The research is clear that having more fun and positive connection in your family’s life leads to greater well-being. But how do we do that easily? Catherine Price, author of The Power of Fun and How to Break Up with Your Phone suggests two easy ideas, device-free conversation starters and naming delights.

When Losing Games is Hard for Kids, with Linda Murphy

Does your child struggle with losing games gracefully? If so, Linda Murphy, MS, CCC-SLP, author of Declarative Language Handbook has some great ideas to help your child learn to manage loss well and build resilience.

Script for when kids don’t want to use anti-anxiety skills

Sometimes kids learn coping skills to help with anxiety, but they don’t want to use them, especially in school, because it may feel stigmatizing.That’s why Janine Halloran, LMHC, author of The Coping Skills for Kids Workbook and The Coping Skills for Teens Workbook, suggests using the following invisible strategies. She even shares a script to teach them to your kids.

Antidote to negative things anxiety tells your child

Does your child’s anxiety say horrible things to them like……You’re going to fail, you’re not smart, or nobody likes you? If so, this is the negative voice of maladaptive anxiety and there are several things you can do about it. According to Sharon Saline, PhD, author of What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew , there are a couple of tools that are particularly effective.