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Is discipline challenging you?

Do you wish you could “Keep Cool & Carry On” amidst the chaos of living with young children?

Or maybe just stop losing your cool when you’re at your wit’s end and not understanding why your child is acting the way they are?

If yes, the you’re invited to join my free discipline challenge!

Here’s the ting, from the time your child is born, you guide them and help them to adapt to their time place, and culture.

Your gentle guidance, is the way to discipline them with loving-kindness or more importantly to guide them to develop their own self-discipline.

our task is to show the way to discipline. quote maria montessori

The word discipline is often charged with many negative sentiments, yet it comes from the Latin word discipulus, meaning pupil. Unfortunately, it has inherited a negative tone such as enforcing obedience or order.

The discipline I’d like to talk about today is one of compassionate guidance, eliminating the need for punishment, taking away privileges, punitive time-outs, shame, blame, or any type of pain.

We are evolving as a species and so is our parenting.

The 13th-century definition of discipline one of obedience and punishment-related is no longer applicable. Today, we have access to scientific evidence that these outdated techniques are detrimental to healthy personality development.

When I first started working in a Montessori classroom I was at a loss on how to manage a group of 25 children under the age of six. (If you are new here, I share a little about how I came to be in the classroom here.)

All the teachers were struggling; lucky our school administrator organized a full day of Positive Discipline training.

Many light bulbs went off that day and I followed up with two in-depth professional trainings, I had found a discipline approach that resonated and complimented my Montessori training.

I’ve since been sharing these tools and techniques worldwide for parents and early childhood educators. Still one of my favorite topics.

Positive Discipline which was developed by Dr. Jane Nelsen (I was fortunate to train directly with her and consider her my mentor) is a set of principles based on Adlerian psychology with the premise that we all desire significance and belonging, love and responsibility.

It is the understanding that behavior is a form of communication and that most often a misbehaving child is one who simply believes they do not have significance or belonging.

A misbehaving child, is a discouraged child. quote Rudolf Dreikus

Using kind and loving discipline is actually quite simple.

First, you must tune in to what the situation is making you feel. Yes, that’s right, you.

The clue lies in how you are reacting or being triggered by the situation.

Take a pause and notice without taking anything your child is doing or saying personally, to notice how you are feeling. Remember that children are brand new on planet earth and simply trying to figure things out and looking to us for guidance.

You’re the adult in the room and you get to lend them your calm and help them self-regulate to be able to connect back to their emotional center.

A child who is having a tantrum is ‘off line’ they cannot regulate and need us to make them feel loved no matter what. This is in no way permissive parenting, it is simply showing compassion to someone who is having a hard time.

I’ve been on a mission for more than two decades to help parents navigate the first six years of their child’s life with more ease and joy and want to invite you to join me in evolving the way we guide and discipline our youngest humans.

If you want to be the calm loving parent who helps their child self-regulate while mastering compassionate parenting tools, connect with your own emotions, and help your child better understand theirs.

Then come join me in my FREE “Keep Cool & Carry On!” Discipline Challenge.

I’ll be sharing 3 simple tools a day starting Monday, June 6, 2022, your challenge will be to try one of them out. Just one, it’s that simple.

When we become aware of other ways it can be challenging but I will be there to help you along with Mentoring sessions throughout the week of this free challenge.