Regulating Your Own Emotions: A Chat with Dr. Laura of Aha! Parenting

December 5th, 2012 by Dionna | Comments Off
Posted in Gentle/Positive Discipline, Just for Fun/Miscellaneous, natural parenting, Video/Interactive Posts

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Photo Credit: obyvatel

Each time your child does or says something, it elicits a reaction from you. Your reaction could range from a casual observation, to praise, to mild annoyance, to anger.1 It’s how we interact with our child after this initial reaction that matters.

Have you ever noticed that your reaction differs from day to day, even with the same child, the same behavior? On good days, a certain behavior might elicit a playful parenting moment that quickly diffuses tension. On bad days, that same behavior might end with you shouting, your child crying, and a little voice in your head wondering what went wrong.

When I first started learning about positive parenting and gentle discipline, one of the concepts that was the most eye-opening for me is that we are the masters of our emotions. We can choose how to interpret behavior, how to respond. We have a choice.

But for many of us, regulating our own emotions is no simple task. It takes great effort to remain calm when our instincts might lead us to yell, shame, or spank.

If you are still learning how to stay calm when you feel like your child is pushing your buttons, you will appreciate Dr. Laura Markham’s new book, Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How To Stop Yelling and Start Connecting. The entire first section of the book is on regulating your own emotions. Dr. Laura explains why your child can push your buttons, why it is important for you to model emotional regulation, and she offers tips on how you can become a more mindful parent.

Dr. Laura joined me recently for a live phone call on this topic. She answered reader questions about how to parent positively when your toddler does not listen, how to connect with your preschooler when he is doing the very opposite of what you’ve asked, and how to help yourself and your children during transitions – both daily, mundane transitions and larger life changes. Dr. Laura also touched on the importance of taking time for ourselves so that we can feel balanced.

If you missed our call, you can listen to the full recording here:


Code Name: Mama Live Call with Dr. Laura Markham (mp3)

You can also listen to a recording of the chat Natural Parents Network hosted with Dr. Laura. Our topic was Beyond Discipline.

Be sure to enter Natural Parents Network’s giveaway for Dr. Laura’s book, Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How To Stop Yelling and Start Connecting. It ends December 15 and is open worldwide, so enter now to win a copy!

And if you’re interested in learning more about gentle discipline and positive parenting, I invite you to start by perusing the Gentle Discipline archives at both Code Name: Mama and Natural Parents Network.

  1. I’m stealing my own words from Our Childhood Affects Our Parenting. ↩

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