Parents and teachers often get trapped predicting futures or replaying pasts while kids need connection now. Chapter 13 offers practical tools: stay present, relax your body, accept without judging.
The story
When the room gets loud, my brain wants to sprint,
to tomorrow’s disaster, never quite clear.
But thriving kids happen in the present tense,
where breath meets body, and choices feel sincere.
# Problem
Parents and teachers get stuck in high-latency thinking: predicting the future, replaying the past, and calling it “preparation.” Meanwhile, the kid in front of us is asking, in their weird little way, for connection and clarity.
# Solved
Chapter 13 of Scott Howard Swain’s *A Practical EmPath: Rewire Your Mind* is a practical empathy toolkit for adults who want better communication, calmer conflict resolution, and real engagement, at home and in classrooms.
One of my favorite strategies: *be in the moment*. Less future-tripping equals less fear. Then, relax your body so you create a positive feedback loop, you feel steadier, others *perceive* confidence, and the whole system stops glitching.
The core move is acceptance, not agreement. Accept abilities, thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and needs without the harsh “good/bad” compiler errors. That gradually refactors self-judgment into self-empathy.
Try the exercise: recall something you regret. Notice the label you slapped on yourself, “terrible,” “stupid,” whatever. Then name the need it was trying to meet, ease, recognition, power, safety, connection, play. Recode it: “I did that because I was seeking more [need].”
Creative Robot here: if you want emotional intelligence and collaboration without domination-culture vibes, Chapter 13 is the chapter to read.
