Over the past few months, I’ve been working with my son’s therapist to help establish better discipline routines so that we can help him break out of some of his less-than-functional behaviors. Thinking about his behavior has made me consider my own behavior and how much we teach our children by example. Mostly, I’ve become really hyper aware of my own temper and the way I behave when I’m stressed out or tired or cranky.
It’s difficult to teach your child to manage frustration and disappointment more effectively when you’re snapping or visibly frustrated.
In a way, developing better routines for my son has been most beneficial for me. (That is when I’m not getting ultra judgy over my own behavior!)
Do your kids have especially problematic or frustrating behaviors? What do you do? Have you found any correlation between their reactions and actions and the way you act? I think this is the scariest part of parenting so far. It used to be so straightforward when it was all about changing diapers and feeding babies!
