This was such a helpful read. Thank you for sharing it. I’m not parenting a big kid yet, but even in the toddler years, I’ve felt glimpses of these power struggles and the emotional exhaustion that comes with trying to hold boundaries while staying connected. That tightrope between being too firm and too soft is very real.
I really appreciated the reframe that breaks and boundaries can also be loving, it’s something I’ve been learning slowly, and hearing it laid out so clearly here gave me a bit of peace. The bedtime example especially resonated; I’ve stayed in the room longer out of guilt so many times, only to leave frustrated and drained.
I’d love to hear more about how these strategies evolve as kids get older. Does the balance shift once they can articulate more? Or do the same patterns just take new forms? Thanks again.
I love that these strategies are part of the bigger conversation about effective parenting right now; thanks for sharing the specific scripts. My struggle is, what do you do next if you tell your kiddo, "lights out, I love you" and they follow you screaming into the hallway...?? 🥲
This was such a helpful read. Thank you for sharing it. I’m not parenting a big kid yet, but even in the toddler years, I’ve felt glimpses of these power struggles and the emotional exhaustion that comes with trying to hold boundaries while staying connected. That tightrope between being too firm and too soft is very real.
I really appreciated the reframe that breaks and boundaries can also be loving, it’s something I’ve been learning slowly, and hearing it laid out so clearly here gave me a bit of peace. The bedtime example especially resonated; I’ve stayed in the room longer out of guilt so many times, only to leave frustrated and drained.
I’d love to hear more about how these strategies evolve as kids get older. Does the balance shift once they can articulate more? Or do the same patterns just take new forms? Thanks again.
I love that these strategies are part of the bigger conversation about effective parenting right now; thanks for sharing the specific scripts. My struggle is, what do you do next if you tell your kiddo, "lights out, I love you" and they follow you screaming into the hallway...?? 🥲
I like this framing of "big reactor."
That was an interesting read, I actually incorporate a lot of that with my son and it seems to work pretty well