Tag Archives: tools

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Are Your Emotions Getting In the Way?

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What’s up with kids’ shoes? If they’re not entirely missing, they take at least a million painful hours to put on. If you’re running late? Forget it. The shoe battle just intensified ten-fold.

If you’re anything like me, at this point you might be thinking, “Ugh, do I really have to deal with this again?”

In situations like this, do you ever find yourself time traveling to the future? You see exactly how the shoe battle is going to play out because it’s the same every single time, right?

Are you stuck in a shoe battle rut?

Welcome aboard the Here-We-Go-Again Cycle. Buckle your seat belts!

When habitual patterns are activated in our relationships, there’s a strong pull to get caught in the Here-We-Go-Again Cycle.

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Just Pick Up The Sock! What To Do When Kids Don’t Listen

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It’s summer, summer, summertime! Cook-outs, pools, ice cream, vacations, fun and a break from the expectations of the school year.

Stick with me my Australian friends, even though it’s not summer for you, the topic we’re discussing is still relevant.

Summertime can be a bit loosey-goosey with more unstructured time, more time with siblings or other family members, and an increase in new experiences and new environments.

All of this can lead to the one thing that’s the opposite of a fun summer: dealing with resistance.

Resistance can look like:

I told her it was time to stop riding her scooter and asked her to put it in the garage. She rode away in the opposite direction.

I asked him to brush his teeth. He told me he did, but when I checked his toothbrush it was dry.

I asked them to stop playing minecraft or watching youtube shows. They acted like they didn’t hear me and ignored my request.

I asked him to pick up his dirty sock that was laying in the front hallway. He said it wasn’t his and didn’t move a muscle.

When things like this happen to you and the frustration and feelings of defeat rise up, are you thinking things like:

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One Mindfulness Tool That Will Change Your Parenting

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Imagine you and your family are in a small boat traveling down a river. Let’s call it the River of Calm.

You’re having a pretty nice day when all of a sudden the water current speeds up and you’re struggling to steer the boat.

SWISH… SWIRL… BUMP!

Before you know it, you’re beached on one of the riverbanks.

While the River of Calm is every parent’s love, we could easily call the riverbanks their nemeses.

On the right side of the river, is the BANK OF CHAOS where meltdowns live.

On the left side, is the BANK OF RIGIDITY where power struggles hang out.

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