Tips & tools
TOOL KIT
Often parents say “Oh that’s great to know, but I can’t remember anything on the spot!” Whether you are dealing with a toddler’s power struggle or an eye-rolling teen, the Tool Kit gives you strategies to address just about any negative behaviour that comes your way. You will learn to use 40+ tools – each one complimentary to the other. You will see behavior improvement immediately and marvel at your success. The Parenting Dialogue Tool Kit will help you change a stressful home environment into a more peaceful one. Stop guessing and boost your confidence by knowing which tools to use, when and how. The more you use the tools, the less you will see negative behaviours in your children.
With the tool kit you will get:
1. Confident parents
2. Capable kids
3. Happy households
4. Respectful environments
If you would like to connect with your children, see your children behave better and improve your family life, contact us.
TIP OF THE MONTH
1. Help your kids problem-solve when appropriate, but don’t always solve their problems for them. Some issues definitely require adult intervention, but others only require good advice. Resist the urge to hand your child a solution. Instead, ask him if he needs your help deciding what to do and then share your views.
2. Try to acknowledge a job well done. Even if you’ve set an expectation of high performance for your kids, telling them they did a good job helps motivate them to maintain those standards.
3. Use I-messages to communicate positively to your child how you feel, and what you need him to do- When you…I feel…because…and I need you to….Ex: “When you whine, I feel confused because I can’t understand what you say. I need you to use a normal voice if you need my help.” Ex: “When you forget to text, I feel worried because I have no idea where you are. Next time, I really need you to text me.”
4. Try to connect everyday during a meal, bathtime, strotytelling, jumping on the bad or even just cuddling.
5. Model good communication with your child by listening, mirroring what you heard, asking ‘what’ or ‘how’ questions, validating feelings and pausing to let your child talk. Remember to make eye contact and use your body language positively to connect with your child.
ACTIVITIES
1. Put bubbles in the bath and let your child explore.
2. Put food colouring in the bath and let your child explore.
3. Bring beach towels, blankets, pegs and flashlights in the living room. Wait and see what your child will do with these items. Help your child build what he wants, ask questions and have fun together. (Maybe you will have a great place to hide and a flashlight to look at books in the dark!).
4. Go to the beach and collect shells and pebbles. Use them to count, weigh them, make art, paint them or make gifts!
5. At the dinner table, go around and ask each person to say something nice that happened today; then go around again asking about something that was not so nice. Listen, validate, celebrate and give help if needed.