A young child whose toy is snatched away might instinctively hit the child snatching their toy. An older child whose toy is snatched might say, “Hey! Give me that or I’m gonna hit you!” Both of these situations might be triggering or upsetting to the adult intervening. And it might be hard to see the … Read more
One thing went wrong. And it led to another. And it was too many things. And he was MAD. I carried him into his room so that we would have a safe space to melt down. He screamed at me, “JUST GO AWAY FROM ME!” I have talked about this before (I’ll link that post … Read more
This post has an audio and video recorded version for those who prefer to learn by hearing rather than by reading. Scroll to the bottom for the video of me reading it. “I wish I could let my kids learn to work out their own fights, but it turns from verbal to physical in the … Read more
If my partner and I were chatting and he said “Ughhh, I’m so stressed out by writing this dissertation, I could just throw my computer out the window!” I wouldn’t say, “Well, you aren’t allowed to throw your computer out the window.” I might say, “I know. I know it’s maddening.” If my boss and … Read more
I still catch myself in these ways of thinking. I still catch myself thinking old thoughts with my kids. “If I get playful right now, he’s going to learn to be ‘difficult’ whenever he wants me to play with him.” “If I don’t make her regret doing that, then she’s going to end up doing … Read more