Episode 33: Gently Easing into the New Year for Parents and Kids скачать в хорошем качестве

Episode 33: Gently Easing into the New Year for Parents and Kids

Following our Episode 32, Being Intentional for the Holidays – Finding a Fit for our Families, we continue the theme of deepening our understanding of what works for us, this time as a new year begins. We discuss our thoughts about resolutions and goals for parents and children alike, as well as share thoughts about the line parents walk between facilitating and encouraging kids as they journey into a new year or phase and knowing when to “let be” and step aside. We talk about how that can all happen with gentleness … our “successful” interactions as well as our fumbles. We’d love you to have a listen! We Discuss: Choosing to extend the holidays to stretch on into the new year and easing in at our own pace Reframing goal-setting … thinking not only about what we might do but how we might like to feel Considering what part of ourselves we want to bring out more of or explore throughout the new year That thinking about the whole year can be overwhelming at times Considering changing a Word of the Year to thinking more seasonally if that feels like a better timeframe That things become easier as they become habits SMART goals Laying out some concrete ideas about the “where,” “when” and “how” to help us and our children make things we’d like to pursue happen Looking for the opportunities that are already in our week and centering those Pairing things we enjoy or pairing a more challenging thing we’re interested in with a simpler joy (running plus music) Looking at the activities for the next period of time or season and discussing with kids the details everybody wants to fold it in That not all families find that it works to sit down and have set planning or goal-setting meetings Lists as menus or possibilities rather than “have tos” – we can redefine these for ourselves Being aware of our energy or enthusiasm not being over the top in a way that might lead our kids feeling pressure That writing ideas down can actually soften our “over-enthusiasm” about ideas for our kids because we’ve moved our thoughts out of ourselves and put them down in a place they can choose from or not Internal versus external motivation and not stepping on our child’s internal motivation, straddling a line between being there to support, encourage and facilitate but also recognizing that they are very capable of doing those things themselves. Being a partner to our children and understanding it’s not entirely equal because really it’s their life How the relationship piece plays a very important role in clarifying and offering grace when/if we’re overstepping or hanging back to much That there can still be value in offering children chances to reflect and set goals and intentions even if it’s not taken up as enthusiastically from one time to another “Resolution” as a word that brings up images of holding on tightly The vastness of a new year as a source of overwhelm – remembering practical details, feeling pressure to get answers from kids as far as decision-making around activity registration, vacations, etc The potential heaviness kids feel in making decisions for kids and supporting them by loosening our grip on the outcome Validating their experience of overwhelm while still holding gentleness around the big picture so that they can land softly with us The reality of our society being very attached to performance and a particular order to things and that our children will likely pick up on that to a degree regardless of our intentions, but we can hold space for them in a different way A preference for looking back and reflecting versus making plans and looking ahead – people are so different about how they prefer to process The important role we can play as parents in paying attention and respecting our children’s individual ways of processing The fascinating degree of difference in the way people plan, goal-set and reflect – not judging our kids but rather trusting their process The more we trust, the more kids feel themselves to be trustworthy people How kids’ brains are often working on something and growing in a particular area that has little to do with our preferred timetable but everything to do with their own process That it’s less about controlling the conditions and events of the new year, but more about who we want to be – what’s the part of ourself that wants to be there with our child regardless of what the year holds? Taking care of ourselves ❤️🤍 Resources: Lists or Not – How Do We and Those We Love Keep Organized, Virtual Kitchen Table Episode 16 The Happiness Project – Gretchen Ruben The Twelve Week Year – Brian P. Moran Deschooling Imperfectly: The Beauty of Intention, Virtual Kitchen Table Episode 20 Ten Benefits of Making Mistakes – Taking a Kinder Path Joy Lists – Taking a Kinder Path Goodreads Annual Reading Challenge NaNoWriMo Novel Writing Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar