Parenting Strategies That Actually Work

Being a mama is completely amazing…and incredibly hard.

We are on this mom journey together – doing our best to guide our kids to be honest, respectful, contributing citizens.

We all want our families to be strong family teams that help, serve and love one another.

But our families are made up of real people with different opinions and emotions right? None of our families are made up of happy, glittery unicorns living on a rainbow of sunshine, am I right?

This week I completed a Love and Logic parenting class offered through my school district based on Charles Fay, Ph.D. and Jim Fay’s work. I LOVE the new parenting tools I learned and feel enthused to share them with you to help our homes become a little more rainbow-like.

Love and Logic teaches that parenthood should be fun!

If we can stay calm and have a list of ideas that actually work to help us when our children push our sanity to its limits – we will be having a much happier time as parents.

Here are responses to problems we all face as mamas that I learned from Love and Logic.

• Is your child arguing, back talking or begging? Do not engage! Simply respond with the one-liner “I love you too much to argue.” Say it quietly and calmly.
• Is your child trying to push your limits? Use enforceable statements. State what you are willing to do. “I’ll read to you as long as your fingers aren’t in your nose.” “I allow kids who brush their teeth to enjoy dessert.” “I allow kids to shop with me as long as it does not cause a problem.”
• Is your child fighting for control? Share it! Let children make their own choices when the choices fit your value system. Examples: “Will you be wearing your coat or carrying it?” “Are you going to take a shower or a bath?” “Are you going to turn off the TV now or in 5 minutes?” “Do you want carrots or peas for your vegetable tonight?”

Good luck parenting your little unicorns this week mama! I am cheering for you!

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