Around 40 parents came tonight to the Redwood City, CA Boys and Girls club. This was amazing considering this is Giants country and this was game 1 against the Detroit Tigers. Our focus was on how to discipline rather than punish their children. Many were Spanish speakers and listened through headset translations.Whether English or Spanish speakers, everyone participated and left feeling they gained new insight and felt determined to make changes in their family dynamics.
The key to soft power discipline is to first connect with children. Many parents made determinations to work on remaining calm, to be more patient, be more respectful, don’t yell and listen to their children more. They realized that building the relationship is key to winning their children’s cooperation.
Specific strategies we learned were:
1. How to listen with empathy
2. Using the After- Then or Work before Play strategy.
3. The 7 Steps for Setting Limits
4. Setting clear limits and expectations before an event.
What a great evening we had together. And the Giants won!
Cynthia Klein is a certified parent educator teaching parents and teachers since 1994. Her website is www.bridges2understaning.com. Cynthia writes the Middle School Mom column for the magazine Parenting on the Peninsula.
