Social Emotional Learning- Mrs Piccini

Donut Thinking: Are you Looking At The Hole or The Donut-y Goodness?

A few months ago the Parent Assembly organised a wonderful webinar with child psychiatrist, Dr Kaylene Henderson. She had lots of great advice on bringing out the best in our children. One thing in particular that stood out to me was ‘donut thinking’. When we look at a donut, we think about the donut-y goodness. We don’t think ‘Oh no, it’s got a piece missing in the middle’. This is a really useful analogy that we can use with our children to keep their problems in perspective and to have an attitude of gratitude.

Example 1: I don’t want to do my homework (hole). Donut-y goodness = as soon as I finish my homework, I can do something fun.

Example 2: One of my classmates said something unkind today (hole). Donut-y goodness = My friend stood up for me.

Example 3: It’s raining and now we can’t go to the park (hole). Donut-y goodness = Mum said we can play board games together instead.

A useful question we can ask our children is “Are you looking at the hole or the donut-y goodness?” You might find this particularly useful over the school holidays!

If you’re interested in getting more great tips from Dr Kaylene Henderson, her website is www.drkaylenehenderson.com