We all want our children to do well, and when they do not, we look for ways to encourage them. In fact, it is hard not to. Sometimes, we are so eager, we jump ahead of ourselves and are not as helpful as we can be. Sometimes we miss the key ingredients in order to be helpful, like: -- what we already know about our children -- how willing we are to observe their behavior even closer than we previously have -- how able we are to step aside and let the child lead the process of change

When it comes to resolving fears, some strategies work better than others. It all depends on the type of fear and whether it is short-lived and typical for the child's age, or whether it is more persistent and sometimes even hard to define.  We discuss 3 different types of strategies & levels of support: Level 1: Direct Strategies for developmental & information-based fears Level 2: Indirect Strategies for vague & perception-based fears Level 3: Assisted Strategies for persistent...

What does parenting style have to do with it and why does it influence the executive functioning of our children? In today's Episode we get answers to this question and more: - Can we help children develop Executive Functioning skills? - Why does our parenting approach matter? - What are the 3 Parenting Styles? - How does each style impact the development of Executive Functioning? - Which style is the most beneficial for brain development?

What do you think of when you hear, executive functioning? What comes to mind right away? Executive functioning has been a buzzword for a number of years now, and yet it is still so confusing.   In this episode, we are getting to the very core of Executive Functioning. There is only One Thing you need to know about executive functioning that will ease the overwhelm & will help you see its true primary function.

Do you ever get scared? Children do. They get scared all the time. It’s part of their development, which comes as a hallmark of maturing brain & their ever-expanding cognition. Though all the learning that our children do is exciting, the fear of the many unknown things around them is no fun. How do we help them? Would it be helpful to tell them that we are not afraid? Would this help them see that there is nothing to worry about? What would give our children confidence? What tools work?

What to do if you tend to get so frustrated with your child that you lose your cool? Do you need a solution for those moments when you are just ready to explode? In this episode, find out: ​ - why it often feels that anger is too difficult to control - what to focus on instead of wishing to stop being angry - how to slow down time & ourselves enough space to respond rather than react - how to stretch your continuum of feelings to see more opportunities for a re-set Share this episode...

Staying consistent in parenting is not easy, especially when the child’s behavior seems erratic and unpredictable. And yet, the only way to settling testing behaviors is the consistency of our response. If we break our own word, it is hard to convince the child we are worth listening to. Spotting inconsistent parenting practices is relatively easy. In this episode we are talking about three types of scenarios that inconsistent parenting fits into and how to act instead.

One of the biggest traps of parenting is the double standard parenting. We do not do this intentionally. And yet, we do fall into this trap more often than we would love to admit, perhaps. When we give in and do not hold consistent expectations, we create a double standard. Knowing why that happens and what implications double-standard parenting has on child development as a whole, can help us be more mindful of this trap and be proactive in how we interact with our children.

What do future-ready children look like? And if the future is so unpredictable, how can we prepare our children for it? Yes, thinking about the great unknown can cause a lot of anxiety. But here is the good news: Not only is there a set of skills and abilities that will matter down the road no matter what the future looks like, but these are also the things we can do today. 

It is not easy to parent a child, especially in this century. With so many changes in how we live today & not knowing what we need to prepare our children for, it can be anxiety provoking. One of the ways we deal with that anxiety is by clinging onto what we think we can control -- our children. But what happens when we try to control our children from the place of our own fear is that we become rigid and narrow minded.

All children have challenging behavior. This is normal. Until it gets to be too much. When yelling, arguments, tears, and tantrums occur on a daily basis, it rises to a different level of concern. You may have tried setting limits, expanding consequences, and maybe even got frustrated enough to go the punishment route… What do you do if the behavior persist? The answer is in the deeper unmet needs that hide beneath the surface of the child’s behavior.

What to do when children misbehave? Do we need to address that behavior? How do we respond? Do we even need to respond? Yes, we do need to respond. It is our responsibility to teach children what can and cannot be done, what is acceptable and what is not. This is the way we teach boundaries and help our children understand how to function among other people, but also what is good for their own development. We explore the difference between punishment & consequences, and which is more...

Getting kids to listen and follow our directions is the most common challenge parents face. Ideally, we think about setting limits with children before we run into conflicts. The secret is in the relationship and the approach we take to setting limits. In this episode we explore the diplomatic approach that is based on the following five principles: 1. Limits are a natural part of life 2. Need for information 3. Quality over quantity 4. Shared control 5. Positive language

Why is it important that our children become emotionally competent? Emotions help us understand what we need and what we don’t want. When we understand our emotions, we acquire powerful tools. If we also see how important it is for our children to begin to understand their own emotions, it becomes a priority for us as parents to make sure our children acquire emotional competence.

Do you know that the best way to support the child is to listen to them? And do you know how to listen?  What is the goal of true listening and how do we listen with intention? In this episode, we are exploring why listening to children is not only developmentally important, but how it is also the best tool we can have as parents to working through and solving many challenging situations. Learn three steps to real listening and how to turn this art into practice.

What do you do when you catch your child lying? Have you been perplexed as to why this happens and what to do with this behavior?  To tackle this challenge, we need to understand where the child is at developmentally and be able to tell the difference between intentional deception and other forms of non-truth and storytelling. We also need to embrace the fact that lies, when they happen, do tell us a lot about the child's hidden needs and can show us the way to approach the situation.  

How to raise children who win? The simple answer is to raise children who are not afraid to fail. Children who know how to face failure, have the kind of skills that all true winners need. Children who win, are the children who try, again and again. They look for opportunities to give it a shot, and then another shot. Children with a winner’s attitude know that they may lose and they still go for it, because going for it increases their chances at getting better and getting to their goal...

Our most important role in the child's life is to help the development of identity and the sense of Self. We do that in many ways and by using numerous tools, but it all starts with unconditional regards and acceptance.  The sense of acceptance works like a compass, with its purpose being to guide the child towards those who care deeply. At a very basic level, the need for acceptance tells the child to stick around those who will make sure you not only survive, but also blossom as an...

Setting limits is often the most challenging task when it comes to parenting and it does mean exercising control over the situation and making decisions as a parent. While  we all understand that setting limits is critical, many of us struggle with it. And one of the reasons why, is because parental control is a touchy subject.  In this episode, we talk about setting limits and, more specifically, I frame this conversation around the parents’ right and responsibility to exercise control.

We’ve all done it. At one time or another, we have compared our children to someone else’s. How many times have we said, “Look at so-and-so, why can’t you be like them?” Certainly never said with a malicious intent, comparing children does lead to poor self-esteem. But why is it such a bad thing? Sometimes we use this trick as a means of getting our child to listen or to motivate them, but it is a costly strategy. Dive into this episode to find out why.

As gadgets become part of our children's lives, we get to hear many opinions on what is appropriate use and how much screen time is OK. Where do you get your advice from? How much do you trust the media? How many of your decisions you question based on what you read or hear? How to know what source is reputable and how to judge for yourself?

Limits that we set for our children will be more effective when they are set in a generally positive home atmosphere. The kind of atmosphere that conveys respect towards the child and acknowledgement of them as an individual. The way we interact with our children in general, outside of times when we need to set limits, influences our relationship with them.

Do you protect your own boundaries? If yes, then you know the value of teaching the same skills and awareness to your children. For these essential life lessons, it is never too late to start but the earlier we start the better off our children are. Where would you even begin? How to teach boundaries to children? Isn’t it such an abstract concept? How to modeling the right boundaries? What do boundaries have to do with parent burnout?

Knowing how important it is to maintain our well-being as parents, what would you do to prevent parent burnout? You could probably quit your job if it were driving you crazy, but you can’t quit your children, no matter how much they exhaust you. In this episode, we go over 8 STEPS that can get you started now on the path to either preventing parent burnout from happening, or recovering from it if you are heading there.

Parent burnout is a real phenomenon that can have serious consequences for our well-being. You either heard about or experienced some form of burnout in your life, so perhaps you have some idea of what parent burnout is. But did you know that parent burnout is different from other forms of burnout? Access the Parent Burnout Screener & get your burnout quotient at www.minimumviableparenting.com