A BOLD Approach to Parenting

Bringing awareness to parenting is a key to improving your relationship with your child and growing great kids.  

This can be thought of as using A BOLD approach.

​Awareness

• Breathing
• Own it
• Let it be
• Do something

Awareness

• recognising the triggers of your behaviour
• recognising the symptoms of your emotions
• attending to the moment - real listening and engagement
• seeing things as they are, without judgement

Breathing

• putting little commas and full stops into your day helps clarity, and creates distance and perspective.
• taking the time to take some deep breaths when feeling stressed is a great way to manage a situation.

Own it

• whose feeling is it it?  If you are angry, or sad accept it.  If your child is angry, sad, or anxious - that is their feeling.  You stay calm and help them, stay away from being sucked in to their emotional vortex.
• self-regulation of your own actions/reactions
• compassion - using kindness and showing empathy for your own and your child's needs at the time

Let it be

• Live the moment then re-focus on the present.
• Separate the person from the action
• Accept your child as they are, not what you hoped they would be

Do something

• Act appropriately to the situation
• Act with kindness 
• Act in accordance with what matters to you AND take your tricky thoughts and feelings with you.

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