You don’t have to attend every argument to which you’re invited!
Dr. Lara Markham
http://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/positive-discipline/Parenting-Strong-Willed-Child
Good Morning!
I was reading an article by Dr. Lara Markham and this sentence really resonated with me. It was a thought that I have often had but never could quite put it into words as well as she did.
What a great idea for all of us to remember. So simple, so straightforward and yet something that I struggled with for a long time. A large part of my “witch on a broomstick” phase may have been avoided had I followed her advice! At that time in my life I felt obligated to attend every argument that I was invited to. I never let even the smallest provocation get by me without reacting. And I felt the need to “win” all of those arguments as well. It was not a pretty time in my life.
I look back and I understand that it was all of my anxieties about parenting that made it impossible for me to turn down the argument invitations. I have learned that parenting requires you to be clear on what you want for your family, to be positive in your decisions and confident in the way you convey them and carry them out. Letting my anxieties get a hold of me had me questioning my parenting ability and my confidence was pretty non-existent. Learning to control my anxiety was a hard lesson to learn but I am forever grateful that it is one that I learned before it was too late.
So…get clear on what you want for your family, learn how to tamp down those anxieties and then watch as your confidence grows. Then when you are invited to the argument party you will be able to politely say, “No thank you.”
Have some fun today!
Peggy
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