As both a mom and a Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Laura Markham sounds two clear themes in her advice to parents. The first is that when we feel good, we’re better parents. Quite simply, we can only give what we have inside.
Her other theme is that parenting effectively always depends on our connection to our kids. Without that connection, we have little influence (“My kids won’t listen!”) and, frankly, parenting becomes an exhausting, thankless task.
According to Dr. Laura Markham, the number one problem facing parents today is our way of life. It is stressful. Constant stress in the home and the feeling of being overwhelmed keeps our kids from connecting with us. Overwhelm is fear. It is saying we can’t handle life. Children sense this fear and act out.
What can parents do to overcome being overwhelmed?
1. Reach out for support.
2. Talk to other parents.
3. Express their emotions in a journal.
4. Choose to have a good attitude.
5. Give themselves permission to not be perfect.
In addition to giving advice on how parents can stop feeling overwhelmed, Dr. Laura gave us a lot of helpful hints, including:
- Tips for dealing with your anger, and that of your child’s
- A powerful bonding game that you can do with your child, and how to modify it to help with sibling rivalry.
- The three steps to building self-esteem, as well as a great follow up resource.
I hope you can catch the replay! It will be available until Tuesday morning, Oct. 18th.
If you do nothing else for your kids in the next 2 days but listen to this interview, your whole family will benefit for years to come!
Here’s what some listeners had to say about the interview with Dr. Laura:
“The interview with Dr. Laura Markham was fantastic! I really liked the idea that she suggested about setting up my own reward chart for not yelling. I think my son will really get a kick out of appraising my progress and awarding me stickers (if I get any!). I’m in the process of downloading her parenting course special offer and I’m looking forward to immersing myself… After the kids go to bed, of course!” ~ Lynnsy Snook
“I really liked the real life example that Dr. Laura gave of how she listened to her daughter when she became angry, by turning off the stove to give her undivided attention (to be present with her) and to listen to what her daughter was feeling, and how it ultimately diffused all of the anger. So simple and easy to do.” ~ Debra Mann
“My wife got me turned on to Dr. Markham last month. Hearing her this morning on the show REALLY got me excited about parenting (even more than I was before). As a result of reading and hearing her this morning, I am inspired to try things out with my family. Thanks for increasing our access to the GREAT Dr. Laura Markham!” ~ Mark Duncanson
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Great advice. We can all feel overwhelmed especially as parents when we are faced with so many challenges. I hope many parents read this and implement some of these ideas.
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