Dear Diary,
My mom is a nerd and is that is a compliment. Isn’t imitation the best compliment?... well,
I embrace the nerd in me. She has a
keychain that says “I love math” and her favorite t-shirt says something about
pie being square. She loves puzzles and
reads- how nerdy J I’d definitely select her as one of my “phone
a friend” calls on “Who wants to be a millionaire?”. She regularly exercises her brain and I can imagine
her one day at the ripe old age of 110 with all her wits about her.
She is a mother of 6.
She has been “teaching” and raising kids for a long time. I’d have to
guess that as we grew up, she taught and nurtured us by referring to her own parent
role models, using her intuition and then by trial and error. We turned out pretty good... well most of us. Growing up, we shared our mom with
everyone. Her mothering tactics extended
well beyond her own children. Our house
had an open door policy- quite literally; our door was left open a lot of the
time like we “lived in a barn”. My aunts
tell me that they often mirrored her and deferred to her for parent
advice. Sometimes they’d say, “WWTD”…
what would Tess do?
My mom impresses me because as smart as she is, she is not a
“know –it-all”. She is always
learning. Einstein said something like…
the more you learn, the more you don’t know. As much as my mom is a teacher, she is a
student. As an adult with 20/20 hind sight, I ask her, “Why didn’t you teach us
this?... Why did you do that?”... she admits that she didn’t think about it
like that... or she didn’t know or she didn’t how to do that under this
circumstance or another. She did her
best… that is for certain.
Now that we are grown and we have kids of our own, my mom’s knowledge
has reached a new level. She has a few degrees to prove it. She is a middle school math and science
teacher and she is constantly attending workshops. She takes those personal development days
pretty seriously. And lucky ME!... she shares
her master class lessons with me. Like most
people, her learning is reinforced when she teaches someone else about it- I am
a hungry student. Here, I am paying it
forward by sharing it with you.
A few months ago we were reviewing her notes from her grad
class. It taught ideas from Parent Talk,
a book by Chick Moorman. The subtitle is
Words that Empower- Words that
Wound… How to Talk to Your Children in
Language that Builds Self Esteem and Encourages Responsibility. There is a partner book called Teacher Talk
that I wish/hope my kids’ teacher read.
Everything from my mom’s Parent Talk outline and notes made
a lot of sense. Some of it I was proud
to say happened organically in my parenting.
Many other positive parent talk phrases were not my natural reflex
responses. And even more interesting to
me was that things that I said all the time were well-intentioned but I learned
how and why they send the wrong message.
We as parents say that we sound like a broken record- I want the things
I say over and over to be sending the right message. I really wanted to integrate it into my
parent talk.
It’s not easy to implement new parenting strategies. It takes intentional practice. So, spending the day with my mom and my kids
was good opportunities for us to try out some of the phrases that were new to
me. It was a little bit comical as every
time the kids approached me with something, I would very slowly and carefully
chose the words that I said back to them.
They noticed there was something different. They flexed their eyebrows and cocked their
head to the side. (“what’s going on with mom?”)
So, that initial introduction to Parent talk happened months
ago that my mom and I were reviewing her notes.
It was planting seeds for me… I got in some food for thought and a
little practice. A few weeks ago, she
just gave me the book and when I found a few minutes to myself this morning, I
got it out. The first section was a good review and made me realize that I have
made some good changes. Still some other
things that we discussed a few months ago, didn’t things don’t seem to be
working. So, I’ve put into practice the things that we talked about months ago
and some of the phrases really stuck for me- as they feel natural. I truly believe that many of these things
have empowered my kids and helped them to make the right choices.
Here are some highlights from the first part of the
book:
CHOICE
“Choose. Decide. Pick.” Add these words to your parent talk.
The power of choice is amazing. Teach children that they choose their own
acts… their attitudes and behaviors. “If
you chose to have your chores done by 2pm, I’ll take you to the mall.” “If you chose to keep whining, you are
deciding to go into timeout.” It really has a different ring than what I often
say: “I am going to put you in time out if you don’t stop crying.” I feel like the big bad cop when I say it this
way. Parents can be control (with less guilt) by giving the power of choice to
the child.
“Please make a difference choice.” Imply that you trust they
are intelligent enough to choose an appropriate response. It is not threatening or scolding- just
asking them to make a better choice.
Offer kids 2 choices (that are both good) to let them practice
making their own decisions. “Do you want
fruits or vegetables?” I learned trick a while ago when it came to bedtime
routine. “Do you want to lay with this bear or this bunny? Do you want to read
1 book or 2? Do you want to this song or
that one?” when the kids had a choice in the routine, they went along with the
program. I find that my kids LOVE to
know “the plan” and know that there are slight variations of their own choosing.
“You decide.” (when your inclination is to say “yes”) Can I watch TV?... “if you don’t disturb
anyone. You decide.” I like to think of this one more like “You decide if it’s
a good choice.”… on occasions that it most likely is a fine choice.
“Check Yourself” Make them be responsible that they have
everything… that they are acting right. Etc.
Good thing to say.
“Check it out inside.” What’s your intuition say?
I AM…
It happens all the time… Kids come running from the playarea crying, “He called me
__(a jerk/ stupid/ ugly) _____.” Self Talk- what we say about ourselves- should mean more than what anyone else says about us. Kids should learn to overpower anyone else’s ridicule with their own confidence. If someone says to you “You’re stupid.” it is just as silly as if they said
“You’re a car.” The clear self talk that should happen in your head is “No I’m not.”
They say that a kid’s self image is instilled at a very
young age… usually before kindergarten.
They have a list of things that they think they are. “I am____.” Parents
are completely responsible for creating that list for their kids. I am special. I am loved. I am creative. I am
good at trying new things. I am nice. I am loving. I am strong and healthy. I am
a good learner. I am coordinated. I am a
good listener. These are the things that I try to say to my kids all the
time.
Other people often tell my kids that they are pretty, smart,
so cute, funny…. These are all really nice compliments that we appreciate but
they don’t have to be the top-rated self-talks in their mind. On the contrary, I hear other parents say
things about their own kids about them being lazy, aggressive, clumsy, and I am
sure that they kids can hear it and it sinks into their self conscious and
becomes more and more true.
Self-Talk is important for adults too… and I believe that we
have the power to rewrite what we think about ourselves. I believe in constant and consistent personal
change for the better. Other people
sometimes “put me in a box” regarding something that they knew me for years ago…
“I thought you didn’t like doing that?”
Maybe at some point I didn’t, but that’s not forever. I know lots of people who have negative self
talk causing low self esteem. They hold onto something they thought about themselves
growing up… “I am not athletic.” Well, learn a new sport… practice. As adults we practice self affirmations- say
it aloud and it more likely to come true.
“Act as if” Teach
kids to be a doer. If they are struggling at something, it is NOT helpful to
say “Sure you can, just try.”………….. that
implies that they will be able to do it as long as they try- which isn’t always
true. They may be afraid to even start
the action- encourage them to give effort and do it- even if it incorrect or
imperfect at first. I am a proponent of “fake it til you make it”…. For things
you want to be true and happen… it eventually becomes a real and right. If you are in a bad mood try forcing a smile...
it will eventually stick. If you are
feeling lazy… get up, start moving and you will be happy you did. If you don’t really like something (that you
wish you did), fake it until you actually will like it.
Sum it up in ONE WORD: Caring/ Self Control/ Faith/
Willpower/ Effort/ Follow Through/ Love/ Courage/ Appreciation/ Honesty/ Respect
(NOT Good/ Beautiful/ Excellent/ Super/
Awesome) I use the word awesome often…
too much I’ll admit. When my kids show
me something, my reflex response is “awesome!”
I’d think that is a good thing until I read this book and now I know
there are better one word accolades. “Awesome” is an evaluation instead of
acknowledging the value and character that was exhibited. I have to practice this one. My 5 year old asks for evaluations all the
time.. “Mom, is this good? Did I do a good job? Does this make you happy? Are you
proud of my for this?” she is hungry for
evaluation and I should be able to put it back on her to feel the satisfaction
and I can share it with her… “I am proud for you.”… is less judging. Just like I don’t like someone my own age to
say, “I am so proud of you.” That feels weird to me as if they are judging me
and determined that they were proud. I
would love it if they said something like “I can see how much effort you put
into that.” Or “I noticed the courage it took for you to try that.”
SETTING GOALS and TAKING ACTION
“Let’s have a trial period and then you have to decide if
you want to commit.” INSTEAD OF the idea of “Don’t be a quitter.” This was an interesting
chapter. I am a stickler for
commitment. I don’t like to be thought
of as starting something and not finishing it.
In retrospect and after reading parent talk’s explanation, I go
thinking. I am proud of myself for
graduating college and I think more than anything else it shows that I can commit
and complete things. I remember in high
school, I was on 4 sports a year and the moment I was “on the team” I was committed
to making it to every single practice and every single game and giving it my
all. So, we have established that commitment
is important however we don’t want our kids to be afraid to try new things
worrying that they might be stuck doing (until the end) them even if they don’t
like them. Today, I hesitate to try new
things and honestly, a lot of it is what I would tell my friends about this “new
thing” and what if I don’t stick with it.
Its only after I have been doing things for 5 years that I say to
myself, “okay, I do that, and I am not going to quit.” I should allow myself a trial period J … and I will really be
thinking about this for my kids too.
“What’s your goal?” Make sure the goals are S.M.A.R.T. specific
measurable attainable realistic timely Write down your goals. Look at it
everyday.
“Make a picture in your mind.” Close your eyes and talk
through the details. Describe the detailed
picture of a great outcome.
TWO MOST IMPORTANT PHRASES
“No.” Youngsters
deserve to know there are adults in their lives who draw lines and enforce
them, lovingly and consistently. “No” can be a complete sentence. “No” should
not be followed by “ok?”. I think 90% of
good discipline is to have clear lines and to enforce them. I find over and
over that my kids appreciate plans and rules.
“I love you.” make this phrase meaningful and habit
These are my notes
from just the first quarter of the book. It is really thought provoking stuff. I’d love to hear if any of it resonates with
you. What works for your parenting
style?
Sisterly love,
Sarah
Like I mentioned, we are ready for this. The summer has been a marathon of parties. Everyday felt like a celebration of one thing or another. We swam. We rode bikes. We traveled. We spent tons of time with family and friends. The girls really grew up a lot this summer and recently the 2 years that separate Mea and Eva started to really show. Little things like Mea wanting to shower and Eva likes baths. I could see Eva gravitating toward other kids where she could be the "older one" for a change. I saw Mea getting tired of always being the voice of reason for her little sister and giving up whatever she had for her to stay happy. We are ready for school and schedule and... WE are ready for kindergarten. There is a real silver lining here in the fact that tomorrow will start a whole lots of NEW things! One thing in particular that I am looking forward to is this one on one thing with just me and Eva. That should be interesting.
