This document provides an overview of the Self-Aware: Parenting with Heart publications and curriculum guide from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. The primary objectives are to address the role of emotion in caregiving, develop knowledge of social-emotional competencies for healthy caregiving, and promote family social-emotional health. The curriculum contains 5 units that cover topics like emotional experience in parenting, social-emotional development, emotional literacy, emotion management, sharing emotions, and emotions in relationships. The goal is to help adults strengthen their own social-emotional competencies to effectively use cognitive and behavioral parenting strategies.

1. SELF-AWARE: Parenting with Heart
Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Synopsis of Publications&Curriculum Guide
Primary Target Audience:Adults with parenting/caregiving responsibilities.
Statement of Purpose: Adults contribute to children’s healthy social emotional functioning through the
establishment of positive patterns of parent-child interactions,by providing them with a model for
handling daily life challenges, and by directly instructing children how to handle emotional arousal.
Understandinghowour brains, emotions, and relationships interact to motivate behavior supports the
strengthening of the adult social emotional competencies that underlie the ability to use traditionally
recommended cognitive and behavioral parenting strategies.
Primary Objectives of the Publications and Curriculum
To address the role ofemotion-based experience in effective caregiving.
To develop knowledge of the core social emotional competencies underlying healthy caregiving.
To promote families’ social and emotional health through the discussion and practice
ofcaregiving strategies and behaviors consistent with healthy social emotional development.
Publications/Workshop Units (titles are tentative, for descriptive purposes)
1) Emotions and Family life
a) Publication (in press): The Emotional Experience of Parenting
b) Publication (in press): Social Emotional Competence Begins at Home
Creating a positive family emotional climate
The nature and nurture of social emotional development
2) Emotional Literacy (Self-awareness competency area)
a) Publication (in press): Parenting with Self-Awareness
Recognizing our feelings, connecting with ourselves
Emotions remind us of our values and call on our strengths
3) Emotion Management (Self-management competency area)
a) Publication (in press): Parenting with Self-Control
Emotional arousal and the contribution of our body, brain, and relationships
Managing emotional arousal through healthy self-control
4) Sharing Emotions (Social awareness competency area)
a) Applying perspective taking and empathy in our interactions
b) Using emotion coaching to connect with and guide our children
5) Emotions in Relationships (Relationship competency area)
a) Coordinating our emotional selves with the emotional selves of others
b) Resolving interpersonal conflict using our social emotional competencies
Dr. Ellen Abell
Extension Specialist & Assoc. Professor
Auburn University
abellel@auburn.edu