If you’re like me, you knew being a parent would have its challenges as well as its joys, but you’re still sometimes surprised by what can push you over the edge. We parents — no matter the ages of our children – can find ourselves stymied, frustrated, or pulling our hair out over the little moments when:
- our toddler refuses to put on his socks.
- our kindergartener lets loose with “potty language” – in public!
- our grade schooler calls us “stupid.”
- our preteen refuses to help clean up from dinner, and tells us to “do it yourself!”
If you’re like a lot of parents, you’ve heard some great advice about the importance of setting firm limits, modeling respect, being consistent, or providing unconditional love at all times… and yet, in the heat of the moment, it’s not clear how this advice translates into action. What about those socks???
For the past 17 years, I have been providing parents with concrete skills to survive those little moments, maintain good-will in the family, and raise children to become adults who are caring, connected, creative and cooperative (to name just a few). My focus is on the specific – the actual struggles of the moment that you often can’t find in advice columns on parenting – with a look at the actual words that can help – as well as the language that can undermine or worsen the situation.
The good folks at Active Kids want to bring this service to you! Once a month, one lucky parent will consult with me about a challenging situation. Your job will be to take notes on what happened, who said what, what led up to the situation, what you tried and what reaction you got. I’ll offer you some new strategies you can try in similar circumstances. Try them out, and report back! I’ll write up your story (with names changed), and share it with the readers of Active Kids.
Interested? Drop me an email at julie@julieking.org with your name, phone number and best time to reach you, along with the age of your child and a brief description of the challenge you want to address. I’ll let you know if you are this month’s lucky winner!
Julie King, Parent Educator and “How To Talk” trainer, has been educating and supporting parents and professionals since 1995. Her most popular workshop, How To Talk So Kids Will Listen, is based on the bestselling books by Faber and Mazlish. She offers dynamic lecture/presentations for schools and other parent organizations, and has led workshops for numerous schools, non-profits, and self-organized parent groups. She also maintains a private practice providing telephone consultations to individual parents and couples. She is the mother of three. Visit www.julieking.org, or contact her directly: julie@julieking.org or 415-939-3553.