Setting Limits, Part 4 - Pause BEFORE you Parent

Pause BEFORE You Parent!

Yay! You have made it to the fourth part of a series in setting healthy and effective boundaries. These steps work well for any relationship however we will be concentrating on the toddler years.

Feeling guilty about our parenting practice is pretty normal. We feel

devastated when we make our child feel small and powerless.

We tend to use fear-based practices when we feel pressured to react immediately.

Our brains are wired to respond quickly. So we have to make a conscious effort to learn how to respond instead of react.

It is important to do something to center yourself so that your response comes from a place of calm and patience.

Learn to pause BEFORE you parent.

Here are some calming techniques. Some of them can be done with your child.

Take three deep breaths
Wash your face
Count backwards from 10
Drink some water
Blow bubbles or blow on a pinwheel
Say a mantra
Leave the room if you are afraid you will really blow up
Pray

What calming techniques have you tried? Email us back and let us know what has worked for you and your family!

After you calm down, ask yourself,

“What outcome do I want here?”

This question will help you to set your intention for creating an outcome that works best for you and your child.

In order to embody setting healthy and effective limits, you will need to practice…not just read or hear about the concept.

Parenting Practice: Pause BEFORE you parent. Put the word pause on several sheets of paper and put them in areas you can see them easily as a reminder. This can be a great model for your child too.

This ends our four part series on setting limits and sticking to them. This is just the beginning of our exploration and tips on this topic.

For a deeper dive into setting limits, check out our course here.

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Enroll in our transformative online "Setting Limits and Making them Stick!" course.

In this course, you will learn:

How to get clear about your limit(s).
4 simple steps to set limits.
Helpful tips on how to effectively follow through without nagging, threatening, or bribing.
How to effectively respond when they use emotional blackmail.
9 pitfalls to avoid when setting limits.