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"자녀를 건강한 아이로 키우려면? 부모 자신부터 감정을 다스려라"

"자녀를 건강한 아이로 키우려면? 부모 자신부터 감정 다스려라   부모의 감정이 무엇보다 자녀의 감정에 큰 영향을 미친다 / 셔터스톡 부모라면 자녀의 감정을 존중하는 것의 중요성에 대해 들어봤을 것이다.  하지만 부모인 당신의 감정은 어떠한가? 임상 사회 복지사이자 심리 치료사인 힐러리 제이콥스 헨델과 심리학자이자 양육 교육자인 줄리 프라가 박사는 신간, 『부모도 감정이 있다(Parents Have Feelings, Too)』에서 통념을 뒤집었다.  즉, 정서적으로 건강한 아이를 양육할 수 있도록 하기 위해선 먼저 부모 자신의 감정을 다스릴 줄 알아야 한다는 것이 핵심 메시지다. 이들이 부모들에게 어떤 조언을 했는지 CNN과 함께 알아본다.  부모에게 가장 중요한 감정, '분노' 헨델은 부모가 다뤄야 할 6가지 핵심 감정으로  ▲분노 ▲슬픔 ▲두려움 ▲혐오 ▲기쁨 ▲흥분을 꼽았다. 그러면서 ‘분노’를 가장 중요한 핵심 감정으로 보았다.  그녀는 “분노는 파괴적인 잠재력을 가지고 있기 때문에 사람들을 곤경에 빠뜨리는 감정이며, 그래서 우리는 대개 그것을 묻어버린다. 그런데 이때 분노는 안으로 폭발하여 우울, 죄책감, 불안, 수치심으로 나타날 수 있다. 혹은 밖으로 폭발하여 공격성으로 표출될 수 있다.”고 설명했다.  중요한 것은 분노를 ‘행동’으로 옮기지 않고 ‘경험’하는 방법을 배우는 것이다.  이는 분노에 이름을 붙이고, 신체에서 어떻게 느껴지는지 알아차리고, 그 순간의 충동이 무엇인지를 인식하며, 궁극적으로는 그 에너지를 방출하는 것을 포함하는 내면의 과정이다.  이에 더해 헨델은 분노를 두 개의 분리된 단계로 이해할 필요성을 말했다. 분노를 경험하는 내적인 과정과 스스로와 가족에게 건설적인 방식으로 분노를 표현하는 외적인 과정이 그것이다.  한편, 프라가 박사는 엄마와 달리, 아빠들의 경우 ‘분노’라는 감정처리에 더욱 익숙하지 않다고 지적했다.  하지만 아빠들...

‘My circumstances have turned out …’

  ‘My circumstances have turned out …’   “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel”  (Philippians 1:12).     How do I look at the situation I am facing now?  Is this the situation I expected?  Perhaps the situation that I face now is a situation that I didn’t want or expected.  So now I am dissatisfied with my situation.  And now I am struggling because of my dissatisfied situation.  It is painful and I am distressed.  I wonder how long I have to stay in this hard and painful situation.  So when I look at my situation, I become discouraged and even despair.  There is no hope.  What should I do?   Today I read Bible Philippians 1:12.  In reading, I came to think about Apostle Paul saying “my circumstances have turned out ….”  First, I thought about the Paul’s circumstances. ...

God who strengthens me

  God who strengthens me     [Psalms 89:19-52]   I heard the news about a former baseball player in South Korea who murdered 4 people and took his own life.  I was wondering how a person could be so cruel and evil.  I was surprised to see that human cruelty is this much.  According to the news, this former baseball player has paid the money to others before committing suicide.  Maybe he killed those four people in order to steal their money.  In the end, I think that it was murder because of financial pressure.  I hear from people and in the news that not only America but also Europe and Asia as a whole are doing bad economically.  As a result, I think that this kind of sinful thing caused by financial pressure is being expressed.  Many people are depressed and frustrated, and feel desperate in despair.   Indeed, this world is full of sorrow and hardship.  It is a world fil...

God who helps me

  God who helps me     [Psalms 121]     Do you know that you need help?  If so, what do you do when you need help?  Who are you asking for help?  When I personally need help, I tend to sing the hymn “Jesus, My Lord to Thee I Cry”.  In particular, I like the words of verse three: “No preparation can I make, My best resolves I only break, Yet save me for Thine own name’s sake, And take me as I am” (Internet).  When I fall because my strength and determination are weak and when I feel like I need help urgently, I pray God and sing this hymn “Jesus, My Lord to Thee I Cry.”  And often the bible verse that comes to my mind is Psalms 121:1-2: “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?  My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.”  I want to meditate on the whole of Psalms 121 under the title of "God who helps me" and to receive the lessons God gives...

Grace after disaster

  Grace after disaster     “Thus says the LORD, "The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness-- Israel, when it went to find its rest” (Jeremiah 31:2).     God's thoughts toward us are peace (Jer. 29:11).  God's thoughts toward us are the future and hope (v. 11).  But our thoughts are different from God's thoughts (Isa. 55:8).  We have evil thoughts in our hearts (Mt. 9:4).  What comes out of our heart is an evil thought, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness (Mk. 7:21-22).  So our thoughts are sin (Prov. 24: 9).  God sees that every intent of the thoughts of our hearts is only evil continually (Gen. 6:5) and disciplines us only with justice (Jer. 30:11).  God disciplines us and bring disaster on us so that we may realize our sins and repent of our sins.  Even...

The testing of your faith

The testing of your faith     "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3).     How do we react when trials come?  How do we react, especially when the trials are not one or two, but many?  Isn’t it so hard and painful that we aren’t only discouraged, but even in despair?  But the Bible James 1:2 says “Consider it all joy”.  How is this possible?  How can we consider it all joy when we encounter various trials?   The reason we should consider it all joy when we are subjected to various trials is because the testing of our faith produces endurance (Jam. 1:3).  And when we are patience to the end, we will be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (v. 4).  In fact, when we are faced with various trials, we sometimes realize our shortcomings.  For example, when we face trials we realize th...

Persecution is an opportunity!

Persecution is an opportunity! ”So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone” (Acts 11:19).           “Faith of our fathers! Living still In spite of dungeon, fire and sword; O how our hearts beat high with joy Whenever we hear God’s glorious Word … Faith of our fathers! We will love Both friend and foe in all our strife; And preach thee, too, as love knows how By kindly words and virtuous life” (Hymn “Faith our fathers”, verses 1 and 3).           We cannot but admit that it is God’s grace and love that we Christians are able to keep our faith even in persecution because we cannot do so with our own strength and power. That’s why we cannot help but be glad when we think about our faith that God has kept. Furthermore, when the believers love even their enemies and preach with kindly ...

Wisdom that shines in crisis

  Wisdom that shines in crisis     “Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning” (1 Samuel 23:22).     When I was little, my favorite TV comic program was "Tom & Jerry".  And now my three young children (especially the youngest one in elementary school) love “Tom & Jerry”.  The reason I liked that cartoon was because it was so funny that Jerry, the rat, wins a cat called Tom who is much bigger than Jerry.  In particular, I liked the scene in which Tom used all means to capture Jerry but clever Jerry not only escape the crisis but made Tom be in that crisis.  When I think of this comic, I remember the battle of David and Goliath in the Bible.  Perhaps because David was like Jerry and Goliath was like Tom.  As we already know, David wins the battle against the Philistine Goliath.  So King ...