What Cookie Monster Taught Us About Self-Control

Life Kit: Parenting

NPR

Kids & Family

4.6 • 640 Ratings

🗓️ 17 May 2019

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Self-regulation skills, including self-control, help us reach our goals, learn in school and get along with others. Millions of children struggle to develop them. We talk to experts for strategies to teach these skills — and get some very special help from Cookie Monster.

Here's what to remember:
- Look at self-regulation as a skill that can be learned and practiced.
- Teach children to calm themselves.
- Use your imagination to reframe a temptation.
- What would Batman do? Kids can channel their heroes to make it easier to live up to their values.
- Be strategic about distractions.
- Build self-regulation skills with activities like martial arts or music lessons.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
0:05.4	RWJF is a national philanthropy working toward a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.
0:12.1	Learn more at RWJF.org.
0:15.3	Hey, everybody. Today on the podcast, we're going to talk about how to help kids manage themselves and control
0:21.2	their big feelings.
0:22.8	I'm Corey Turner, an education reporter with NPR and the father of two boys.
0:26.9	And I'm Anya Kamenetz.
0:28.0	I'm also an education reporter and the mother of two girls.
0:30.7	And for the beginning of this episode of Life Kit for Parenting with Sesame Workshop, I'm
0:35.2	going to step out for a minute.
0:36.1	Yeah.
0:36.8	So we decided to try something
0:39.0	with a very special guest who has a really interesting relationship to self-control.
0:45.7	Me using the podcast voice, we hope this okay. That's right. It's Cookie Monster, in the fur.
0:52.7	Hello, hello, Corey.
0:59.5	Yes, that drew me self-control expert, so thank you for having me on show.
1:00.4	Thank you.
1:02.5	Expert, really? Yep, me control myself all the time.
1:06.1	Just this morning, me told me feet to walk to studio,
1:10.6	and me told me hands to brush me fur for important
1:14.4	podcast interview.
1:16.6	Um, Cookie.
	...

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