This past Monday was the first of our “Parenting Simply Foundations Course.” We have finally graduated from tele-conferencing to Webinar. I am pretty proud of how quickly I have adapted to our new media platform. ParentingSimply.com is moving up in the world and we are off to a great start.
We discussed the following topics:
1. Why it is hard for parents to empathize with their children.
2. Conflict between parents and children is normal and necessary.
3. “Misbehavior” is usually developmentally appropriate behavior.
4. We have unrealistic expectations of what it means to parent. We think we need to be perfect.
5. Parents feel that children get upset over trivial matters and we try to teach them that they should not get upset over little things. We spoke about the need to accept and empathize with children even about the silly things in life.
6. 5 skills that help us empathize with our children.
When we empathize we show respect for our children’s emotions, we open up the channels of communication, we create relationship-building moments and we encourage children to take responsibility for their actions and come up with solutions to their every day problems.
More Information on Empathy:
Daniel Goleman, the author of the groundbreaking book “Emotional Intelligence”, encourages parents and caretakers to learn how to deliver empathy to their children. He further states that parents who are more empathetic and manage their children’s feelings effectively will have better relationships with their children. He cites studies that have shown that children of empathetic parents are better able to manage their own difficult emotions, can soothe themselves and get angry less often. They are also more relaxed. These children have good social skills and are liked by their peers. Overall, they have fewer behavior problems, good attention skills and are more effective learners.
SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK:
-We don’t need to make sure our children are happy all the time.
-Use empathy to set limits and maintain your authority in your home.
-Managing Temper Tantrums
Our class is unfortunately closed to new participants but we will be running another class in October. I will keep you posted. Looking forward…
Want to learn more?
Sign up for our Email course:
7 Ways To Help Kids Listen In 7 Days
Adina Soclof, MS. CCC-SLP