36. Kids' Emotions, Self-Sufficiency & Talk with a Preschool Mom

Parenting Principles in this episode: Mom-dependent vs. Independent, Helping Kids deal with their emotions, Your child's weakness may be a strength in disguise, Having Kids Take Responsibility for the Ripple Effects of Their Actions is the Best Teacher of All. We talk about all of these parenting issues today on the podcast in a conversation between myself and my grown daughter, Becca, the mother of two preschoolers . While most of the examples today are about young children, the principles can be applied to all ages. 
Here's the parenting principles we're talking about on the podcast today...
*Independent versus mom-dependent, which type child do you have?In the area of self-sufficiency, kids tend to fall into two categories: the “Mom, you do it. It’s too hard for me. I can’t do it.” mom-dependent types, OR, the self-sufficient types, “Mom, let me do it myself. I can do it” all while pushing mom away. Each child-type needs to learn different lessons in the area of sufficiency.
*Teach Kids to deal with their EMOTIONS😁😫😥🙄🤣🥰 Throwing things or stomping off or shutting down are not helpful and, in fact, they cause further troubles.. As parents, one of our main roles is to raise up strong people who can handle their defeats and disappointments in productive ways that don’t throw them into tailspins or immobilization.

*Might that weakness actually be a strength in disguise? Honing your child's strengths...Moms, I’ve told you before that our kids' weaknesses are usually a strength in disguise – a strength that is out of balance, needing some shaping. We can help our kids with a little strategic parenting.Being strategic is really what intentional parenting is all about!
*Taking Responsibility is the best teacher of all (and is usually better than punishment).  Keep it simple, Mom, teach your child to take responsibility for their actions - accidental and intentional. We talk about the importance of having our kids clean up their own life messes – both the accidental mistakes and the messes that come from poor decisions or poor attitudes or poor behavior. Do you realize that there are wonderful and simple parenting strategies that are right there in those messes!

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