Green and Gold Resources: How Parents Can Prevent Co-Ruminating and Nudge their Children in a Positive Direction
Occasionally we come across an article or resource that we think is beneficial to share with our Camp Families, Staff, and Alumni. Today we would like to share a recent Time Magazine article written by the incredible Rachel Simmons entitled, “How Parents Make Things Worse for Their Struggling College Students.” The article discusses a type of parent / child interaction called co-ruminating and the impact that it has on both the parent and the child’s ability to find perspective on, and solutions for, difficult situations. While the title mentions college students we feel that Ms Simmons’s article, and suggestions, truly applies to all parents and adults who interact with and guide children.
Here is an excerpt from the article and we encourage you to click on and read the article in its entirety below: “When a teen is having trouble, talking more about the issue isn’t always the solution… Co-ruminating is, at its core, a bad social habit. It’s not genetic, nor is it unavoidable. It can help to imagine co-ruminating as a track your conversation is chugging along. We have to shift onto a more positive conversational track to start generating better thoughts. This fall, as kids set out on new adventures, the real parenting win won’t just be a phone that rings, but a conversation that combines empathy with problem solving, refuses to linger in sadness, and nudges them into the next chapter of their lives.”
