Okay, mamas… hear me now! At some point in the very near future, you must consider the opportunity to make a GREAT investment in your tool-belt of parenting. That investment is to take a class from from Sheri Louis, of Mindful Parenting PDX. I adoringly think of her as the “Pied Piper”, but guess what? She’s not rounding up the kids & changing them… she’s rounding up US as parents & helping us rethink parenting as a whole. And in return, I have a totally different view of my almost 3-year-old & 12-year-old. I adore my daughters, but I’ve been on the verge of tears several times in the past six months with my toddler’s occasional back-talk, defiance, sassiness, tantrums and hitting (all to me). Anyone else experienced this??
The ‘Conscious Discipline’ approach helps parents creatively manage parenting challenges and connect with their children. – Sheri Louis
My husband, Dominic, and I have one more class in our 4-week series (classes are once a week for 2 hours) and I highly encourage that your spouse/partner/co-parent attend this class with you. It not only has acted as a ‘pseudo’ date night for me & Dom, but it’s incredibly important for each parent to hear the same information simultaneously and then discuss what is processed (which, somehow, can almost always be different!). Dominic has totally gotten into the class and we walked away from our first two weeks with some super “gold nuggets”; ideas & approachs we implemented immediately at home. I don’t want to give away too many ‘parenting secrets’, but I will share two things that have absolutely changed in our home.
One is the idea of a ‘time out’ and well, we’ve simply erased it from our home. You might not use this discipline or not, but Sheri can show you how and why this specific act is a catch-22, how it is really ineffective and give you some easy alternatives. The other is our overuse of praise… we are/were “GOOD JOB” junkies!! I mean, we said it to each other, Soph, Maddy, the dogs, the mailman, everyone. Catch how many times those two words come out of your mouth with your kids and YOU WILL BE SHOCKED… Again, Sheri explains how other validations and phrases of ‘noticing’ are sooo important. Huge for us – huge!
And hey, if you’ve ever been in that moment when the meltdown is going to go from a 2 to a 10 at rapid speed - like, you’re in the grocery store and you can see your child is like a tick about to pop! – you’re desperate to get through the line as quick as you can because it’s escalating by the second? I mean, what do you do?? Sheri gives such detailed insight to our brains & how they function in those times of stress (meaning our brains & theirs!) and how to be ahead of the tantrum. I loved this part and it gave me a greater understanding of Maddy when the fight-or-flight is kicking in and how I can comfort and connect with her during those stressful times.
It’s amazing that this stuff isn’t required when we birth our babies, right? ;-) But I’m so glad experts like Sheri are out there to offer parents support and help us fill our tool-belts with real tools that WORK. Check her out… you will be in awe of the confidence you will regain in yourself and your ability as a parent and partner. Thanks, Sheri!
