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Daily Parenting Inspiration

Years ago a woman yelled this out her car window a

Its not always easy is it? #respectfulparent #Posi

💡 Shifting from "Fixing" to Truly Listening 💡

One of my favorite quotes from Thomas Gordon’s Parent Effectiveness Training reminds us of a simple but powerful truth:

✨ “When a child is behaving in ways we don’t like, it means they have a problem.” ✨

To me, this means that when a child is acting out, they’re struggling with something. Our job isn’t to control the behavior—it’s to tune into the child.

But here’s the tricky part: We can’t listen deeply if we’re stuck in our own “junk.” 🤯

That means:
❌ Reacting from frustration
❌ Jumping in to fix their feelings
❌ Making their struggle our struggle

When we set aside our own agendas and truly tune in, we become helpers instead of fixers. And that’s when the magic happens—kids feel understood, process their emotions, and even start solving their own problems. 🙌

When children are given the space to work through their feelings, they become more independent, better problem-solvers, and more emotionally mature.

Whew! Heavy stuff, right?!

We dive deep into this in my P.E.T. (Parent Effectiveness Training) course where we learn practical ways to put these ideas into action.

✨ New P.E.T. class starts in just 1 week! There are just 6 spots left!

📅 Starts Tuesday, March 25th
⏰ 9:30 AM Pacific Time (via Zoom)

Message me or comment below to join—I’d love to have you! 💙

#RespectfulParenting #parenteffectivenesstraining #ParentingTips #PositiveParenting #respectfulparent #rie #parentingclasses #attachmentparenting #sandiegomom

✨ Let’s Talk About how to do Empathy! ✨ As

🚀 The Magic of “What’s Your Plan?” 🚀

“How dare you defy me!” 😱 Gulp.

The word “defiance” always makes me pause. What do we really mean when we say a child is being defiant?

They won’t listen.
They won’t cooperate.
They won’t do what we want.
But… what if what we want isn’t compatible with what they need in that moment? And what if their “defiance” is really just them using the only tool they have to stand up for themselves? (Because let’s be honest—kids see power being used all the time!)

What if, instead of labeling it as defiance, we listened? What if we got curious about what was so important to them that it was stopping them from helping us?

💡 Here’s an example:

Child A wears a new hat to school. Child B snatches it off her head.
Teacher takes the hat from Child A.
Child A, totally incensed, SNEAKS it back. Twice.

At first glance? Defiance.
But when the teacher listens, she learns that Child A isn’t being stubborn—she feels punished for someone else’s actions.

So the teacher gives her more information:
"The hat was distracting me while I was talking, and I needed to finish."

And just like that, the child responds:
"Well, if I knew that, I would’ve put it in my backpack. Can I do that instead? I’m worried it’ll get taken sitting out like that."

✨ BOOM. Cooperation. ✨

Instead of wielding power and getting defiance in return, the teacher communicated—and got a natural, thoughtful solution.

Isn’t communication the best?! 😍

Want to learn tools to listen, set boundaries, and solve problems so your home is full of more love and cooperation?

📅 Parent Effectiveness Training – Online
🗓 Tuesdays | March 25 - May 20
⏰ 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Join me! Link in bio. 👇 #ParentingForMoreJoy #CommunicationWins #DefianceOrMisunderstanding #parenteffectivenesstraining #RespectfulParenting #ParentingTips #respectfulparent #PositiveParenting #rie #parentingclasses

One of the biggest reasons I teach Parent Effectiv

Or 3-year-olds… or 5-year-olds! 😆 Does it re

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