Introduction to Boundaries

Stress Happens. Healthy Boundaries Can Help.

Our emotions play a big role in how we feel about ourselves and life in general. Stress Happens. Healthy Boundaries Can Help is an in-school workshop that will help your 5th grader find ways to achieve emotional well-being in our stressful world.

The workshop is only the beginning, because the most powerful coach in your child’s life is YOU. That is why each month you will receive a brief e-newsletter which shares information and tools for helping your child build and maintain healthy boundaries. With healthy boundaries in place, your child will have tools to manage stressful situations, feel safe, and develop resilience as well as self-respect. This helps build the emotional wellness youth and adults all need.

The Power of Boundaries

A boundary is a limit. We see them everywhere, all the time. They are on sports fields, telling us when a ball is or isn’t in play. We see them on maps, showing us where one town or state ends and another begins. We even encounter them when we see signs warning us of the legal speed limit. These boundaries help us know where we belong or don’t belong.

Personal boundaries work much the same way. They help us make decisions, and protect us in a number of important ways. Physical boundaries can mark the line between appropriate, safe contact and abuse or assault. Emotional boundaries help us defend our right to feel respected and respect others’ feelings. Social boundaries enable us to identify inappropriate or unfair behaviors, and help us treat others well.

As 5th graders prepare for the journey from elementary school to middle school, they need to understand how to set and defend their own boundaries so they can feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe. They also need to learn how to respect the boundaries of others. These are two important skills that can be learned and practiced so your children are able to navigate the challenges they will face in 6th grade.