Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Maybe you don’t like your teen or tween’s haircut or choice of clothes. If they would just follow your rules, make more of an effort in school, and stop spending so much time on screens etc, everything would be okay, right? Before you step in, look at the big picture. Easier said than done, but the alternative can set you and your teen up for several unhappy, unsatisfying years together. Mark will help you see the parenting opportunity in front of you by inspiring you to look past your frustrations and disappointment.

Instead of parenting from a position of fear, feeling helpless, or being unaware of more effective alternatives, take charge and control what you can by practicing and developing social emotional learning tools around self-awareness, expressing feelings, moods, and empathy. Learn how to mode a common language for communication. Changes in, inconsistent, or poor behavior are about what is happening on your child’s inside not how they are acting on the outside.