Understanding our children’s emotions is one of the most complex parts of being a parent. You definitely aren’t alone if you find their actions baffling, and often wonder if your child’s explosive emotions are actually because they’re a handful. Moving towards being more understanding is one therapist-backed way of starting to untangle what could be happening inside their little minds. Creating an environment that is safe and supportive, where children feel comfortable expressing their emotions, is also backed by experts as a positive way to empower them to navigate their own feelings and those of others.
Expanding on this, popular conscious parenting educator, Shelly, has now shared online four powerful reframes parents can try, for when it feels like your child’s behaviour is overwhelming. The quick, simple tips shared on Instagram are excellent ideas to have in your parenting toolkit, ready to be brought out when your little one has pushed all the buttons they can. The expert finished her post with some gentle affirmations that support parents to feel validated in their own emotions, no matter how complicated they might be. Shelly reminds parents that our brains really are capable of change, and the more the reframes are practiced, the easier they become to implement.
After reframing your thoughts, be kind to yourself with some of Shelly’s affirmations. These include “In this family, we celebrate failing at new things,” and “You are valuable regardless of your achievements.” The parenting educator uses gentle guidance to encourage parents on their journey to learn from their mistakes, alluding to this being part of the messy and imperfect part of raising children – this is what we feel all parents should hear and be allowed to feel. Shelly wrote “What we’re thinking on the inside is such a strong indicator for what’s going to happen on the outside with our kids. I️ see you. I know this is so hard to do when it wasn’t modelled for you. We’re allowed to make mistakes. And we’re going to need to repair along the way. It’s all part of being human and learning as we go. You’re doing AWESOME.”
