Your Parenting Long Game

Many children with big emotions crave consistency, but how can we be consistent when life gets in the way? There are so many things to juggle as a parent -- extracurriculars, homework, schedule changes, work trips, family visits -- and we’re tired. The good news is that there’s an alternative to consistency that is much easier to achieve as a busy parent (and it has all the same benefits!). In this episode, you’ll learn: * How to reduce the pressure on yourself and still meet your kids’ needs  * The difference between predictability and consistency  * What it feels like to be on the receiving end of this strategy  -- Your personalized next step: https://rachelbailey68580.activehosted.com/f/204 Transcript of this episode: https://rachel-bailey.com/326-transcript/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RachelBailey [https://www.facebook.com/groups/RachelBailey] Free training for parents with kids with big emotions: https://rachel-bailey.com/longgame/ [https://rachel-bailey.com/longgame/]

There is nothing worse than feeling helpless as a parent, and it’s easy to feel powerless or out of control when our kids won’t listen to what we have to say. Often when we feel powerless, we end up trying to control our children more… which only reduces our influence! Fortunately, there is a simple strategy that can help you improve the impact of your words so your children can actually hear the lessons you’re trying to teach them.  In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why most people dig their heels in when people try to change them  * How to give our kids with big emotions what they need to be able to hear us * A simple strategy to increase our influence that requires us to spend less energy, not more --  Your personalized next step: https://rachelbailey68580.activehosted.com/f/202 Transcript of this episode: https://rachel-bailey.com/325-transcript/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RachelBailey [https://www.facebook.com/groups/RachelBailey] Free training for parents with kids with big emotions: https://rachel-bailey.com/longgame/ [https://rachel-bailey.com/longgame/]

Often when we ask our kids with big emotions to do things they have to do, instead of doing what we ask, they resist, negotiate, or even become disrespectful to us (or themselves!). And when we feel helpless and stuck, we often then fall back on strategies that our parents used with us… which tends to make things worse. So how can we motivate responsible and respectful behavior when our attempts seem to just lead to more drama?  In this episode, you’ll learn: * Two reasons why rewards and punishments don’t work for kids with big emotions * Common reasons why children struggle (and how we can identify these reasons when our kids are having a hard time) * How to go beneath kids’ behavior to motivate more positive behaviors, moods, and attitudes with less resistance

One of the defining qualities of children with "big emotions" is that they have a hard time when things don't go their way. But explaining to them why they need to be more flexible doesn't seem to work, and it only frustrates them and us more! The good news is that we can help our children handle frustration and disappointment when we shift from telling children WHY they need to be more flexible to teaching them HOW to be more flexible. In this episode, you'll learn: * Why we reduce our influence when we try to get children to accept that things won't always go their way * What they truly need in order to become more adaptable * A simple formula (with examples!) to teach them to maturely handle the fact that things will go differently than they expected -- even if they are currently resistant to talk about this --- Transcript of this episode: https://rachel-bailey.com/323-transcript/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RachelBailey [https://www.facebook.com/groups/RachelBailey] Free training for parents with kids with big emotions: https://rachel-bailey.com/longgame/ [https://rachel-bailey.com/longgame/]

We want our children to feel respected, and we know that it’s important to connect with them and validate their feelings. But when they’ve behaved in an unacceptable way, it’s easy to wonder if, when you’re connecting with them, you’re letting them “get away” with negative behavior.  In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why our influence does depend on being able to balance both validation and firmness * A simple formula (with examples!) to show our kids that we sincerely care about what they’re going through without condoning negative behavior  --- Summary of this episode with examples:  https://rachelbailey68580.activehosted.com/f/199 Transcript of this episode: https://rachel-bailey.com/322-transcript/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RachelBailey [https://www.facebook.com/groups/RachelBailey] Free training for parents with kids with big emotions: https://rachel-bailey.com/longgame/ [https://rachel-bailey.com/longgame/]