I am a TV addict.

Honestly, one of my favorite thing to do after a long day is to sit on my couch and zone out while catching up on the hot topic shows that I’ve heard were worth watching

I have already watched season one and two of the notorious Netflix show, 13 Reasons Why.

If you have been living under a rock, please refer to this link for a brief synopsis of the show: 13 Reasons Why.

This story actually started as a book by Jay Asher, which I have also read prior to watching the show. They are closely related, but I would recommend reading the book if you had to choose just one – But I digress.

I am not interested in a comparing the two or focusing on specific situations from the show, but instead discussing how we can use this show to serve our children and students in a culture where 13 Reasons Why, may be relatable to them.

“Sometimes we have thoughts that even we don’t understand. Thoughts that aren’t even true—that aren’t really how we feel—but they’re running through our heads anyway because they’re interesting to think about.” ― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

13 Reasons Why In My View;

So how can we do that?

Where do we start?

Here are three things we can do:

1. Explicitly teach emotions to our younger students/children:

In grades as young pre-k, helping children be self-aware. Keeping them aware of why they are feeling a certain way, and putting a name to it, can really help our kiddos with understanding what’s going on inside of them, to then help control it!

Check out Disney’s Inside Out for some ways to start the conversation with our little ones!

2. What if they can’t control it?

Then it’s our job to give them strategies to learn to control themselves and their emotions.

Many adults don’t have self-management skills needed to get through really difficult situations. Let’s start by giving our kiddos a rock-solid foundation of naming our emotions and dealing with them appropriately.

Try getting them to organize their thoughts, and find out what happened before (or the antecedent) that made them feel this way (behavior) and what their reaction was (consequence) and how to make better choices next time.

We can also use some research-based strategies like the Zones of Regulation.

3. Push the need for relationships outside of AT&T, Verizon or Sprint.

Have a “disconnected” dinner, where there are no phones! You can ask how their day was, or how school was, but you can also bring up things in the news, plans for the week/month, family events coming up, ideas you can do together.

Teach them how to have a conversation, how to engage, and share information about yourself, so they know it’s safe to share about themselves. Then maybe start snap chatting while they do the dishes!

As a parent myself, I worry about my son and wonder what his life will be like when he gets to school. I want to keep those communication doors open, and hope is he is ever feeling something that he can’t explain, or kick out of, or handle, that he knows he can come to me and we will work on it together.

While 13 Reasons Why is only show, it’s a scary one for parents and teachers alike. It’s out there, most of our older kids have probably seen it, and if not definitely heard about it. Let’s bridge the gap there – bring it up, don’t make those situations so taboo?

I personally want to be just like The Braverman’s. I really do love TV…

~Nicole