1. When Kids Act Out with Janice D Sue Groner 21:25

Janice is a mother to a 4 and a half year old boy and a 2 and a half year old girl. As a busy working mom she struggles with navigating how to practice “gentle parenting”. She finds herself trying to choose between disciplining or coddling her son when he acts out. She asks herself questions like “am I coddling too much?” and “are they taking advantage of me and acting out?”. She does her best to respect her son’s big feelings but can’t help but be overwhelmed whenever he acts out and throws a tantrum. Today we talk about what it truly means when kids “act out” and how to approach them when this happens. We talk about how to practice respectful and kind communication with a specific tone rather than coddling and the importance of validating feelings. We also talk about how to pre-plan for triggering situations that might lead to tantrums and how to slow down and be particularly thoughtful about their schedules and busy lives. 

 

When we get frustrated and angry and we’re like “stop crying, stop acting this way, what are you complaining about?” we are adults- we have much better coping mechanics. And when we say that it’s like we’re not acknowledging how they are feeling and then they are going to act that way more.”

– Sue Groner

This week on The Parenting Mentor:

  • Tips on language and communication practices to use when kids act out
  • Tips for validating your kid’s feelings and the importance of this
  • How to truly enforce rules such as “people don’t hit people” effectively
  • Tips for getting on your kid’s team and why this creates respect and stronger communication 

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Susan G. Groner Founder of The Parenting Mentor, Author, Podcaster

As an experienced mother of 2 young adults, Sue Groner knows how stressful and overwhelming parenting can be at times. She founded The Parenting Mentor to provide an ally for parents in their quest to raise confident and resilient children. Sue is the author of Parenting with Sanity and Joy. 101 Simple Strategies, is the host of The Parenting Mentor Sessions Podcast, and is a certified Positive Discipline parent educator.

Sue is also the creator of the CLEARR method of parenting, developed through years of trial (and her fair share of errors!) with her own family. CLEARR adheres to the belief that parenting strategies should be grounded in six important pillars: Communication, Love, Empathy, Awareness, Rules, and Respect. This has become the cornerstone of her practice as The Parenting Mentor.

A graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a former advertising executive, Sue is a frequent guest expert on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox to name a few, and provides advice for many national publications and websites such as The Wall Street Journal, Parents, Real Simple, Today.com, HuffPost, and Katie Couric Media. Sue resides in New York City and Bedford, NY with her husband, and when she’s lucky, with her children. She is available for private and group mentorship sessions(in-person or virtual) nationwide for individuals and corporations.