Family Meeting with toddlers?

Get on board with the Parenting On Track home program. I love this stuff!!!! Love it.

Let me know when you do and we can chat along the way in the forum! There is so much support for parents there, it is awesome.

Kathy

The Rubber Band Effect

The Rubber Band Effect

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Family Meetings with 4 year olds?

Can a 3 and 4 year old follow through with agreements?

Can a 3 and 4 year old appreciate each other?

Can a 3 and 4 year old solve problems?

The answer is: yes to all those questions. This is what has happened since we have made family meetings a regular part of our lives.

The situation: 4 year old goes to pre-school three days a week. We had to cut the 3 year old to two days a week. Both of them have rebelled by not getting ready for school, whining, crying, asking to stay home, wanting to go to school with the older sibling when they can't. This has disrupted the morning routine since Santa came to town which was also the time when we cut the 3 year old from one day of school.

The 4 year old came to me and said, "Mommy it is a problem for me when Sadie gets to stay home and I have to go to school."

"Put the problem on the problem page!" I replied with a huge smile on my face and a sense of serious relief. We had an"emergency" family meeting to solve the problem and the outcome: we are going to give the new school routine two weeks while Daddy and I figure out how to solve this problem. They nodded and smiled!

Bingo that was it, 10 minutes and I was back to drinking my wine and talking with Steve about how this family meeting thing might pay off when they are teenagers!

Here is what this morning looked like after our agreements. Thank you Parenting On Track for inspiring me to continue family meetings.

Wait, make time for me?

I had a coaching call with Parenting On Track this week and I was concerned that my career, finances and day to day grind were spilling over into my relationship with my kids. WHY? Because I was falling into old habits more often than not.

Old habit number one: "making a mountain out of a mole hill" as my mother used to put it.

Old habit number two: yelling

During my coaching call we figured out that I have not taken enough time for myself. Duh! Just thinking about it makes me smile. Then I pulled out my "Supa Mom" cape and we all sang the Supa Mom Song. Humor and complete silliness also works to break up the moment.

In chapter 7 of the workbook, Vicki, creator of Parenting On Track discusses "The Art of Encouragement". Reviewing this chapter this week for me means I make time for me.

Since Santa came to town

This was my house around September when our family's morning routine ran smoothly and for the most part everyone left the house feeling energized and ready for their day. That was then and this is now!

Since Santa came to town everything has been unpredictable! My husband and I changed our expectations and made a plan to start all over again after Santa's visit.

Now I am realizing what that actually means for my three imps. It means I have to start all over again! As I write this I am still not over the fact that there were two educated adults standing around a 4 year old, I was putting her hair up and he was pulling up her sock! Ahhhh!

What would Vicki say? Make a plan. Put it on the agenda for the next family meeting. Until then do nothing!!

Okay, I will try but I might turn "doing nothing" during tomorrow's morning into a little training session for the 3 and 4 year old.

What's happened in your house since Santa came to town?