Who's Really in Charge?

Observation is really one of my favorite ways to learn. When I worked at a golf course, I used my time on the beverage cart to watch and learn from the golfers. I would compare the swing of successful golfers to that of those who didn't do so well. Then, I would see how I could adjust my own golf swing on my next round. As I began teaching, I volunteered in the classroom of a Kindergarten teacher who I really admired for her control in the classroom as well as her ability to keep her students engaged in the academics. When my opportunity came to teach Kindergarten as well, I mimicked as much as I could from that teacher's skill set.

As a Pre-K and K teacher, I had the opportunity to observe parent and child interactions for several years before I had my own children. One pattern that I noticed over and over again, was that it seemed like in many families the children were running the show. Parents would allow their child's likes/dislikes to really control the family's menu choices, schedule, activities, and so on. Now, I realize having kids does change things. It is ridiculous to think that your life will go on unaffected after adding kids to the mix. However, parents need to wake up and realize that they are still the ones who should be in charge of the family.

"We can't go to church or to a restaurant anymore because we cannot make it through without little Johnn

y throwing a fit." "We used to eat so healthy, but not anymore since Sally refuses to eat anything with vegetables in it." "Gone are the days of spontaneous weekend getaways. Bobby cannot sleep anywhere other than his own bed." AHHHH!!!

Yes, things will have to look different than they did before. Yes, there will need to be some planning ahead. But please don't stop living your life or letting your child dictate what happens each moment of the day. Many times this is because the parent is afraid to upset their child or desperately wants to avoid a meltdown. Learn ways to prevent the fit or practice diffusing the meltdown instead of giving in to your child and giving the control over to them. Need ideas for ways to do that? Subscribe for notifications of future articles or send me a message. I would love to brainstorm some solutions for you!