When Parents Lose It

Have you ever “lost it” with you kids? My guess is that most people will answer, “Yes,” to this question. The next question is, “Then what did you do?”. Did you feel guilty and beat up on yourself. Or did you rejoice because you just provided your children with a model of learning from mistakes? A primary theme of Positive Discipline is that “Mistakes are Wonderful Opportunities to Learn”. This is true for adults as well as children.

People who are drawn to Positive Discipline really believe in treating children with dignity and respect. However, these same people are not “saints”. They don’t always “live” what they know—including me. This is a good thing.

Instead of feeling guilty when you make a mistake, rejoice that you have just provided a good example for your children. Guilt is not productive for longer than about 10 seconds. In 10 seconds your guilt will serve you to help you can realize you have made a mistake.