Raising a Can-Do Child: supporting your child to a happy, successful future

On-Demand Class · Parenting

This course offers a fun, child-centred approach to helping children develop a Can-Do mindset and life skills through easy, screen-free play. Packed full of play ideas, resources, and top tips to build into everyday family life.

Class Description

The course covers: Tried and tested strategies and play ideas to raise happy children with a can-do mindset and skills for life. Why mindset and life skills are important from a young age, and how they link directly to children’s future success and happiness. Easy, everyday screen-free play ideas to increase children's self-confidence and self-esteem. How to integrate the Can-Do Child approach into everyday family life. Raising Can-Do Children is a fun, child-centred approach to helping children develop a Can-Do mindset, and essential life skills such as problem solving, resourcefulness, resilience, critical thinking, and more. It's a tried and tested play-based approach backed by top child psychologists, parenting, and early years experts. The course is full of real-life examples of families raising can-do children, and over 30 easy, everyday screen-free play ideas for you to put into practice straight away. Over 700 parents have already completed this course – here’s what some of them have to say: “I’ve been looking for a program to support in raising a resilient and a confident child. This course gives a clear idea about the concept of Can-do Child and provides a set of activities to follow right away. What I like the most about this program is its ease of applying without putting a pressure on parent or child. I’m glad that I completed this course and I’m very excited to start this journey with my 4.5 old boy, Thank you.” (Maryam) “Really enjoyed this - Lorraine's passion, genuine understanding and energy shone through at every stage. Every video was easy to follow and at a good pace. The activities are engaging and a fun way of bringing the learning to real life!” (Alison) As well as parents, the course is endorsed by a range of educators, pediatricians, and child psychologists as follows: "I have worked with young children for fifty year and have never seen so much beneficial help to parents and educators.” Jenny Briggs, International Consultant and Early Years Trainer. “This will help you to help children become happier, more independent, enterprising and resourceful. I thoroughly recommend it for both parents and professionals”. Dr Lynne Kenney Psy.D practicing pediatric psychologist, international speaker and educator, co-author of Bloom.

Class Materials

No materials required for this class, but it's worth collecting some everyday items from around the house to help you put the screen-free play ideas into practice, e.g.cardboard, white paper crayons, bottle tops, rubber bands, empty jam jars, wooden clothes pegs, sticky notes, sticky tape.

Sessions Overview

  1. Introduction: This introductory video gives you information about the course content and structure, and is an opportunity to meet Lorraine, learn about her experience, and help you decide if the course is right for you.
  2. Introduction: Course Outline: This session gives more detailed information about the style of the course, what will be covered, the type of screen-free play ideas you can download, and guidance on suitable age range.
  3. Getting Smart with Screen Time: Let's talk about children's screen time. What's the current thinking about how much time they should spend on the screen, and how can we get smart with children's screen-time?
  4. Can-Do Skills and Characteristics: Introducing the key characteristics and skills of a Can-Do mindset, and an outline of the tried and tested, screen-free approach to learning through play.
  5. Developing Social Skills: What do we mean by Social Skills, and how can we help children learn these through everyday, screen-free play?
  6. Learning Self-Regulation: What is Self-Regulation? What's the framework needed to help children develop and learn this?
  7. Developing Social Awareness: More in-depth explanation about Social Awareness, and how this can be developed in children through everyday play.
  8. Summary of Can-Do Skills and Characteristics: A Summary of what has been covered in this section, plus downloadable resources including Can-Do Child Skills and Character checklist, and screen-free play ideas to try out.
  9. Looking Ahead: their future starts with you: We'll be exploring why a Can-Do mindset and life skills are so important in the context of supporting children to grow up to be happy, successful individuals.
  10. Looking Ahead: The Global Skills Gap: What is the Global Skills Gap and why should it matter for our children?
  11. Looking Ahead: Creating a Better Future: Exploring the changing nature of work, patterns of work, and how to best prepare children for uncertain futures, enabling them to be both happy, and successful.
  12. Looking Ahead: Creating Positive Outcomes: What role does the home learning environment have for nurturing children's Can-Do mindset and life skills, and how do these impact on areas such as positive mental health and life satisfaction in adulthood? Downloadable files containing action points and play ideas.
  13. The Can-Do Child Model: Introduction: Introducing the Can-Do Child philosophy and model, including the Three Es model of Engagement, Enterprise, and Enjoyment backed by top child psychologists, parenting, and early years experts.
  14. The Can-Do Child Model: Engagement: The first of the Three Es of the Can-Do Child Model is Engagement. Learn what this is and how to better engage with your child through everyday play. Includes real life family examples, and a summary of key points.
  15. The Can-Do Child Model: Enterprise: Enterprise - the second of the Three Es. What is Enterprise and why is it relevant to raising Can-Do children? We also look at the importance of letting children fail or make mistakes.
  16. The Can-Do Child Model: Enterprise (I Will Fix You): Continuing with Enterprise, we will look in more detail at how to be brave and let our children take the lead! We'll also discuss the importance of resisting the temptation to 'fix' things for them, and the importance of raising children who are active contributors, 'giving back' to society.
  17. The Can-Do Child Model: Enterprise (Summary): A summary of this section all about Enterprise - the why and how.
  18. The Can-Do Child Model: Enjoyment: The third E of the Can-Do Child model is Enjoyment, often overlooked, yet so important for both parent and child. We look at parenting in the 'here and now', and why it's not just OK, but essential for children to be bored!
  19. The Can-Do Child Model: Enjoyment (Summary): A summary about Enjoyment, and the section overall, including key points on how play with your child thats is enjoyable for both of you. We also look at the definition of 'success' and how the Can-Do Child model underpins the key cognitive skills and knowledge children will acquire at school.
  20. Activities: Developmental Milestones and Special Needs: Looking at the play ideas in more detail, we'll discuss how this tried and tested play based approach fits within children's developmental milestones, and how it supports children with special needs.
  21. Activities: Summary: This penultimate session gives you an opportunity to reflect on how you are modelling the Can-Do mindset and skills to your child, as well as putting everything you've learnt into practice. There are also more screen-free play ideas to download and try out.
  22. How will I know it's working? Bonus Play Ideas: This final session tells you what to look out for so you know the approach is working. There is also access to bonus content which includes useful words and phrases to help nurture your Can-Do Child, conversation starters for after-school or when out and about, plus setting goals for the family.

Your Instructor

Lorraine Allman

Lorraine is an author, educator and international consultant helping parents raise happy children with a ‘can-do’ mindset and skills for life through easy, everyday screen-free play. She is author of three best-selling books and has over 20 years experience working with families and in education both in the UK and internationally, in particular the Middle East, where she helped launch the first ‘Early Years Excellence in Practice’ conference and Family Festival for the MENA region, which is now a global annual event.

Degrees and Certifications

Masters Degree in Management,Organisational, and Community Learning City & Guilds Youth Trainer Award Talk, Learn, Do: Teaching your children about money (certification) Full member of the Education Workforce Council Safeguarding Pupils in schools (training)

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