Appeal to their progress
About This Episode
Parents appeal to the progress of your children. Highlight the progress the child is making as a motivator to grow, and to demonstrate perseverance, patience, diligence, and compassion, i.e. character development. Focus on the accomplishments, instead of what’s wrong, and your tone will change from bitter to encouraging.
Featuring
Additional Info
RECAP
Highlight the progress your child has made as a motivator for ongoing growth. It is human nature to notice what is wrong, what needs to get done, and what hasn’t been done. Make an effort to focus on the successful milestones achieved, even if these are minor.
CONVERSATION
What habits do you wish to see your children develop?
THIS WEEK'S ACTION
Practice recognizing the steps your kids take or the positive strides made towards their new habit. For example:
- Going to bed on time: “I liked that you started getting ready for bed right away without waiting for me to repeat myself.”
- Learn how to budget for things they want: “You are showing some good self-control right now"
- Homework: “Keep tackling that math homework with the same perseverance you showed when building that snow fort the other day with your friends.” “When you set your mind to finishing something, you can overcome the most difficult challenges”
Create Vision
Set a goal with your kids regarding a specific activity you’d like them to learn. In the resource section below, there are printable worksheets that describe how to set SMART goals. You can print out these worksheets, and give your kids space to write in the goal that you both think that they can reach. Then brainstorm together about the steps it would take to reach the written goal.
If your child is a visual learner, they can draw out what completing the steps of their goal might look like.
TOOLS
The following tools can help you along the way.
The Struggle is Real podcast is based off the book, The Struggle is Real: Parenting in the 21st Century written by Dr. Alicia La Hoz & Dr. Paul Meier.
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