Building Social and Emotional Skills
What is Positive Solutions
for Families?
Positive Solutions for Families is a user-friendly training series for parents and caregivers with information on how to promote children’s social and emotional skills, understand challenging behaviours, and use positive approaches to help your child learn appropriate behaviour.
Positive Solutions for Families uses evidence-based practices, providing you and your family with opportunities to strengthen parenting practices and promote your child’s social emotional learning.
The program consists of a series of modules covering topics such as building positive relationships, reasons for behaviours, emotions, problem solving and routines.
Flexible
A variety of ways to learn
Positive Solutions for Families is designed to complement an existing social and emotional development program called the Pyramid Model, which is being implemented within early learning & child care programs across Nova Scotia.
The development of young children is enriched when early learning & child care providers and families have the same understanding of how to nurture social and emotional learning.
The training modules are available in English, French, and Arabic. An adapted version for NS Indigenous communities is also available.
Activites to try at home.
Examples of strategies to help understand and apply the information.
Simple key messages regarding social emotional learning and relationship building.
Opportunities to reflect on what worked, what didn’t work, and why.
How to Access Positive Solutions for Families
This program is delivered through NSECDIS at no cost to families in a variety of formats:
In-person modules facilitated by NSECDIS
These sessions are offered on a scheduled basis in partnership with early learning and child care programs participating in the Pyramid Model coaching program. A Parent Workbook is included with the program.
Online modules facilitated by NSECDIS Developmental Interventionists
These sessions are offered on a scheduled basis using Microsoft Teams. A Parent Workbook is available for download to accompany this program. Please access this schedule here.
Self-directed online modules offered through this website
To register for the self-directed online modules (available in English, French, Arabic, and an adapted version for NS Indigenous Communities), please contact the Program Coordinator at jgillis@nsecdis.ca.
A parent workbook is available for download to accompany this program.
Coffee Chat mini modules
This format is available to early learning and child care programs and family resources centres who wish to offer short facilitated discussions with parents/caregivers on key topics such as: feelings; emotional regulation; making and using visual supports; understanding the meaning of behaviour; and routines.
The mini module package includes a family invitation; brief facilitator guide, parent handouts; and make and take activities.
For more information on how to access the Positive Solutions for Families program please contact Jenny Gillis, Program Coordinator, jgillis@nsecdis.ca
More About Positive Solutions for Families
Positive Solutions for Families was developed by The Centre on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL).
Funding for the NS adaptation of Positive Solutions for Families was provided through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) Mental Health Promotion Innovation Fund.
And was developed and evaluated in partnership with the MSVU Early Childhood Collaborative Research Centre (ECCRC).
An infographic on the Positive Solutions for Families project can be found here.