Sometimes it’s just a simple phrase, or a small idea, but it leaps off my screen and hits me right between the eyes!
Sometimes it nags at me quietly for weeks before I realise how important it is.
Sometimes it seems like a little thing, but little things can make a big difference.
Here are a few of those little things that have made a big difference to my parenting lately…
The simple idea to give kids a little more time to reply.
It seems like such a little thing, but ‘thinking takes time’ especially when your brain is still growing, so purposefully waiting three seconds after I ask my kids something has had quite a dramatic effect.
Read more about the idea and why it’s so good for our kids at kinstantly
A ‘perfect’ family is not always a peaceful one.
This post from Kristen Welch (We Are That Family) popped up in my facebook feed this week and this one line really struck me…
“I think in a perfect world, we equate togetherness with peace. But if your world is anything like mine, reality is often chaos.”
We are not religious but Kristen’s words about the value of togetherness and all it’s imperfections really resonated with me. My life and family are far from perfect, or peaceful, but that doesn’t mean we are doing it ‘wrong’.
Say What You See.
I discovered this little phrase and parenting technique a while back and it’s something I often repeat to myself when things are tricky, or when I don’t know what to do… “Just say what you see, just say what you see.”
Starting Over.
I really can relate to this post from The Reformed Idealist Mom. My middle child has been defiant and difficult and just really ‘out of sorts’ lately, and I wasn’t really sure how to manage it all, but now I have a plan.
Unconditional love and adversity that becomes identity.
I heard part of this TED Talk from Andrew Solomon on a podcast and had to listen to the rest of it. If you’ve got a child who’s struggling or different, this will give you hope.
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