PROACTIVE PARENTING SOLUTIONS from YPP Dear YPP, My 3 year old daughter seems to be going through a highly emotional period right now and I just can’t seem to help her calm herself down. When she is crying or screaming with frustration, I ask her why and try to talk to her but she just ignores me and gets even more upset. Please help. Dear Mum, Children who wear their hearts on their sleeves can be challenging to deal with, especially in the heat of the moment. I can understand your frustration here and thank you for reaching out. First and foremost, in the heat of the moment you need to be able to remain calm so that you can be the anchor in order to help calm your daughter down during the emotional storm. In order to respond with the compassion and support that your daughter needs, you need to almost create a moment of space to reflect, listen for cues as to what is needed next, and that might be to simply take a deep breath and be there for her. “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our …Read more →
Monthly Archives: March 2015
5 Simple Tips to Set Consequences that Work
PROACTIVE PARENTING SOLUTIONS from YPP Dear YPP, “My 7 year old son has started to become a bit destructive with things and just recently threw a toy down the stairs and it broke. It was his little brother’s favorite toy and he is really upset. We got a call from the Day Care he goes to saying that he has also been a bit destructive with the toys there. We don’t know what to do. Please help.” Dear Mum, Thank you for reaching out to us regarding your son. Please be assured that this is not an unusual behavior and many kids go through this stage but, having said this, it is something that you probably want to nip in the bud. In these situations I like to think about what we would like the child to learn from his actions and the use of consequences can be a useful parenting tool for dealing with such things. Consequences do not need to be really harsh and nor must they be seen as a punishment in order for them to work. They work best when they are applied consistently, firmly yet kindly and teach the child a valuable lesson: one that …Read more →
