Reminder: Relationship Over Compliance

Dear Parent,

Ask yourself a few questions about how the school year is going for you and your child:

• What is going well for my child?
• Have there been surprises?
• What sparks of interest am I seeing?
• Are friends being made?
• Can I see patterns across the year or years?
• Am I encouraging and praising enough?
• Am I over controlling or criticizing too much?
• Is homework a struggle?
• Does organization need some support?
• Have we finally mastered the morning routine?

A zillion more questions can be asked.  There is one I really want you to consider:

• Is my relationship with my child getting stronger?

Yes? Yes.  GOLD STAR!

If not (welcome to raising an attachment challenged child), make a plan to change that by inventorying the answers to the list above and write down some notes about what you want to do differently.  Stick it on the refrigerator.  

By the way, our children often have a hard time learning from us because stress hormone (cortisol) repeatedly floods their pre-frontal cortices when we are around them, making learning in that moment impossible.  If homework is a struggle, it is okay to get someone else to help with that.  Really, you can let that go.  Your relationship will thank you.

Take stock. It's a good parent growth activity.

Love matters,

Ce

P.S. Check out the Love Matters Parenting Society membership for more support.