Thursday, September 5, 2013

Day 1-The Love Dare for Parents

I received the book The Love Dare for Parents a few months ago. With Ethan being so sick on and off for basically a month I wasn't able to fully commit to the Love Dare. Now that the hubs has left, Ethan is healthy and Gianna is in the midst of the terrible 2's I thought it would be the perfect time to restart my Love Dare

As we go further and further into this stage called the Toddler Years it is easy to get exhausted. Every day I feel like all I do is spend my time referring, pleading, begging, yelling and saying No. All those advice books, the ones that tell you to praise your child when they are doing something good and state that yelling is more for the parent than for the child;s benefit are def right. However some days when you are caught up in the moment it is hard to stop, think, and take a breath before properly disciplining your child. So I figured this Love Dare would enable me to do that!

And day one is oh so fitting

Words are a powerful way to communicate love. The first dare is simply to find a moment when you can verbally express love to your children. Whether they are in your house or reachable by phone, if it is possible, make sure they hear you say the words I Love You today

After completing the dare for the day you are supposed to write down what you did and reflect on it. What was the result of your interaction? Did they respond? Was this easy or difficult for you? Why are these simple words,though often taken for granted, so very important to say consistently?(Love Dare for parents, pg 4)

I'd like to think that I am good at verbally expressing my love to my children. I tell them I love them constantly,especially before nap time and going to bed. I always pull them in for hugs and kisses and my favorite time of day is when we are all snuggling on the couch or the floor. However I do have to say that I really need to work on positive discipline and praising my children more for their good behavior than immediately saying No or sending Gianna to time out

So that was my goal for yesterday. And I succeeded. Not only did I praise Gianna for everything good I caught her doing. I made sure that if I had to correct her behavior or point out something she was doing wrong(such as hitting her brother) I made it positive and politely explained things to her. As a result I felt our day went pretty smoothly. She listened more, wanted to engage more and I felt I had to say No a lot less than normal. And Ethan I of course smothered with kisses and I love you's whenever I was able.  And I ended the day with multiple hugs, kisses, cuddles and I love you's as I usually do
 


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