The Importance of Self-Care 
There's a lovely experiential activity I often do at the conclusion of a 7-week series that addresses self-care. In it, parents are asked to "fill up a pot" (a drawing on an easel page) with sticky notes that show all the things that annoy them. From traffic, to rude people, to television commercials, the pot quickly fills up. Then they all share the things they do to relax, feel better, regroup. As each one of those is written in the pot, a sticky note is removed. It's a great visual for how we can take positive action to shrug off the daily irritations in life. When you've had a day where your pot fills up, it's even more important to take care of yourself by doing a few of those things that recharge you. Is it reading a book, going for a walk, petting the cat? Whatever it is for you, put it right up at the t op of your To-Do List.
And to help keep the pot from boiling over as the days become more busy, consider longer-term self care, such as committing to fewer activities, daily meditation, getting 8 hours of sleep at night, eating at a slower pace, spending special time with your child(ren). Replenish yourself, and consider it a high-priority item.
I'd love to hear your favorite way to recharge. Please share it with me here.
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Kindness and Firmness At the Same time
Positive Discipline is based on maintaining dignity and respect through kindness and firmness at the same time. At the same time, not in balance with each other, but at the same time. What does that mean, and what does it sound like? Jane Nelsen writes in Positive Discipline, "kind" is respecting the needs of your child, and "firm" is respecting YOUR needs, and the needs of the situation. Say you have an agreement in your home that your child walks the dog before watching his favorite TV show at 4:00. Four o'clock arrives, and the dog is still waiting for the walk. When your child turns on the TV to watch the show, you respond with, "I know you're looking forward to your show, but our agreement is that you'll walk Fido first. As soon as you do that, then you can watch your program." You acknowledge the child's need while keeping in mind the agreement you've made. Kind and firm: not permissive, and not punitive. What a concept!
;-)
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