So, I’m re-listening to the book “Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids” by Dr. Laura Markham right now…I ran out of audiobooks to listen to, and I thought now would be a good time to re-listen to this seriously EXCELLENT book that was just life-changing for me…but it was starting to fade from my memory and I needed a reminder as I gear up to start a new homeschool year.
So, as I’m listening, I’m keeping in mind how her parenting advice can apply to not just parenting, but specifically to homeschooling…and I just had an “a-HA moment”, as I listened to this part:
(emphasis mine)
“But try as we might, all of us sometimes have less than optimal interactions with our children…and our relationship balance dips into the red. That’s when children develop attitude. Whether they’re 2, or 10.
So, if you notice some friction with your child…it’s time to check your account balance. Do this even if you think your child is just going through a difficult stage. You might be surprised by how much easier that stage is once your child feels more connected to you.
Challenges signal that your relationship account is in the red. How many loving connections have you had with your child in the past 2 days? What can you do to refill your relationship account with your child? Think of 2 things you can do today.”
She goes on to suggest ways to reconnect.
This totally hit me as something to keep in mind when we are struggling with a child that is fighting with us over doing school work. It could be that we need to revisit the curriculum or the structure of what we are doing, and it could also be that we need to reconnect with our child!
I am so going to try to keep this in mind as I plunge into a new school year with my children, and the inevitable challenges that lay ahead. I certainly am prone to immersing myself in my own agenda and forgetting to be present in the moment with my children and I really want to change that, and have more special moments with my kids throughout our homeschool day that doesn’t involve simply harassing them to get their work done!
Perhaps having those special moments outside of “work” time, and often….filling their proverbial cups…might make the work time more likely to happen without as much fuss? Time will tell!
It’s something to try!
I highly recommend checking out Dr. Markham’s book, and you can find her on the web at http://www.ahaparenting.com/ and on Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/AhaParenting She’s seriously amazing!! Life-changing info, I tell ya.
