Early childhood professionals are committed to providing high quality care, but sometimes the stresses of life make it a challenge. Kaplan Early Learning Company and the Devereux Early Childhood Initiative are pleased to announce a new resource to support early childhood professionals in overcoming the stresses and challenges of life.

Building Your Bounce: Simple Strategies for a Resilient You is a journal especially designed for early childhood professionals. This fabulous new resource is designed to meet adults where they are and take them to a place of greater strength and determination. Through reflective readings, activities and written responses, readers will uncover strategies for strengthening their own relationships, initiative, internal beliefs and self-control.

Sample Strategies

Relationships: Apply the Ten Year Rule

Sometimes we get so upset about the everyday normal hassles of our lives that we fail to remember that these hassles don't contribute to our long term happiness. You might want to think of the 10-year rule. If it will make a difference 10 years from now, it is important. Otherwise, accept what has happened and know that in a few days, this incident will begin to lose importance.

Internal Beliefs: Avoid Blame

It sometimes helps us feel better if we can blame someone else for the things in our lives that don't make us happy. Instead of taking time to place blame on someone else, why not take time and energy to focus on the solution so that no one will allow this to happen again.

Initiative: Play, Laugh, Dance

Remember that joy equals energy. Sometimes a sense of humor is the best remedy for situations that create stress in our life. Seek out situations and people that make you laugh. Find friends that enjoy doing fun things that will take your mind off the stress in your life.

Self-Control: Know when to say "This is enough"

There are many things in life we want to do, but there are only 24 hours in a day. Remember that you don't have to do everything. Some tasks can be delegated, some can be shared, and others can wait!

Devereux Adult Resiliency Checklist

A key component of Building Your Bounce: Simple Strategies for Resilient You is the Devereux Adult Resiliency Checklist, a 23-item reflective checklist that provides adults with information about their personal strengths. The information can be used to help individuals build on these strengths, such as creativity and setting limits, so that they can better cope with adversity and the stresses of daily life.

Statistical analysis shows that the Devereux Adult Resiliency Checklist is an excellent tool for providing adults with an opportunity to gain valuable insights, particularly in these four areas:

• Relationships: The mutual, long-lasting back-and-forth bond we have with another person in our lives.
• Internal Beliefs: The feelings and thoughts we have about ourselves and our lives, and how effective we think we are at taking action in life.
• Initiative: The ability to make positive choices and decisions and act upon them.
• Self-Control: The ability to experience a range of feelings, and express them using the words and actions society considers appropriate.

It takes a fair amount of reflection and practice to integrate new behaviors that are good for us. You are worth it! Best wishes on your personal journey.

Mary Mackrain & Nefertiti K. Bruce

Mary Mackrain

Mary Mackrain is the Program Director for an early childhood mental health consultation program in Michigan serving infants and toddlers at risk. She holds an Infant Mental Health Endorsement Level IV (Policy) through the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health and received her graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Wayne State University. She also is a National trainer and consultant for the Devereux Early Childhood Initiative and has coauthored the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Infants and Toddlers (DECA-I/T) Program. She has worked in the field of early childhood for over 19 years as a teacher, child care director, mental health consultant and research and evaluation specialist. She has coauthored several evaluation studies on infant and early childhood mental health consultation efforts. Her major research interests focus on supporting and understanding the social and emotional health, self-determination and resilience of infants, toddlers and young children and the adults that care for them. Additional interests include the development of systems of care to provide mental health services to children and families. She has presented nationally to audiences regarding these topics. She is active in many statewide efforts which support children’s mental health and is a member of a number of professional and community organizations advocating for quality within infant and early childhood programs.

Nefertiti K. Bruce

Nefertiti Bruce, M.Ed., is an Early Childhood Specialist and trainer for the Devereux Foundation. In her lectures and trainings, she stresses and emphasizes the importance of social and emotional health and development in children. She has dedicated her work to educating parents, teachers and administrators on the importance of paying attention to not only how our children perform academically, but also how they feel on the inside. She received her undergraduate degree from Virginia State University, and her graduate degree from Chestnut Hill College in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Devereux Early Childhood Initiative, Nefertiti worked as a Preschool and Kindergarten teacher in the city of Philadelphia. Nefertiti is a certified trainer for the DECI.