I was so tired of nagging, arguing, trying to force my opinion and control on my children. In fact I was exhausted. Noticing this was the wake up call for me. It had been going on for a long time and I really didn’t like it, I didn’t like it at all. It was scary to realize that what I had been doing wasn’t actually contributing positively to the life I had envisioned having with my family. I wanted to be in a place where I was not constantly fighting for control over my kids and their actions. This was the AHA moment for me, my call to action. I realized that the only way I could get out of my rut was to make a change. That brought about even more fear. Change what? Could I really change my kids? Probably not! Could I influence my kids? Yes. But how? Through me. If it was through me, that meant I had to be the one to change. This reminded me of something I had learned on a course about change: The foundation for all meaningful change is self-change. The only thing I could control here was myself because I …Read more →
Monthly Archives: April 2015
How to Talk to Kids About Morals and Values
I would like to recommend a book for to you today. It is called – “E Is For Ethics” by Ian James Corlett. We bought it a few years ago and as a family have had some amazing conversations about Morals and Values as a result of it. We kept the book in the car and whenever we were all on longer car rides we would pick one chapter to read and discuss. There are 26 chapters in total covering all sorts of things like: Honesty, Understanding, Forgiveness, Courage, Tact, Perseverance, Politeness, Loyalty, Gratitude etc. Let’s pick Gratitude, it looks like this: O After each picture, there is a short story related to the Title followed by one main question to spark the curiosity and trigger the conversation. There are then a few more questions and a couple of quotes. We have spent hours and hours chatting about things like what it takes to be patient, having integrity, empathy and sincerity and have found this book a particularly fun way to engage our kids in conversations on such things. I hope that this might inspire some of you with younger kids to follow suit. I highly recommend it and it …Read more →
This Is The Time…
I thought that I would keep this weeks blog short but sweet. Well I think it is sweet and hope you do to! I have shared a poem that my father-in-law wrote and had published for his grandchildren. He wrote a lot of poems and this one is a favorite amongst parents, I think it says it all. Please feel free to share amongst your friends and family. This Is The Time This is the time of the little people Who have come amongst us now. This is the day of the little people Clear of face and brow. This is the time of the little people Growing bigger day by day. This is the place of the little people Soon to have their say. by Patrick John Harrison Clarke (1928 – 2014) Have a wonderful weekend. Partnering you
How to Help your Child Understand their Emotions
The older I get the more I love and appreciate Dr Seuss and “My Many Colored Days” is one of my personal favorites. I have read it countless times with my own kids and use it when I am teaching parents on the subject of Emotion Coaching and Self-Regulation. I recommend that they read it to their children to help them understand and deal with their emotions and how they are feeling. I love to spark a child’s curiosity about their emotions, ignite their imaginations and really engage them in the story when I am reading to them. Asking them questions while you read can be a lovely way to do this and while reading “My Many Colored Days” I might intersperse some questions like these into it: It’s amazing how seeing simple, bold pictures and using questions like the ones I listed above like can help children recognize and put words their feelings, share how they are feeling and subsequently “claim” and “tame” them. Stories are a wonderful way to engage them, put things in context AND share quality time to strengthen the relationship and bond we have with our children. There are also many wonderful posters and images …Read more →
