23. Communicating with children with grace during the stressful holiday season

2021-12-22

How can we communicate to children during the holidays regarding their behavior, gifts they may be receiving, and family rituals can have a lasting effect on their life. Caroline Griswold joins me in this episode to help parents learn how to find joy and connection when communicating with their children. Caroline is a parenting coach who is passionate about facilitating respectful communication between parents and children from birth. There are many messages around the possibility of gifts that children hear...

How can we communicate to children during the holidays regarding their behavior, gifts they may be receiving, and family rituals can have a lasting effect on their life.

Caroline Griswold joins me in this episode to help parents learn how to find joy and connection when communicating with their children. Caroline is a parenting coach who is passionate about facilitating respectful communication between parents and children from birth.

There are many messages around the possibility of gifts that children hear during the holidays. A very common message is “if you behave, you’ll get a special gift.” Sharing a sweet story about her own son, Caroline charts a different way to handle gifts while avoiding that “if.”

For parents, support and empathy from others is so important while navigating the full-time job of providing unconditional love to their family.

Rituals and traditions are one way to nourish the love for our children and family during the holidays. They are an opportunity to infuse warmth and togetherness into the hearts of your children! In time, these can become formative and precious memories for the rest of their lives.

But, how do we balance some of the more magical traditions through a respectful parenting lens? Well, Caroline shares some communication tools for that.

Takeaways from this episode:

Parents are the first communication teachers in the lives of their children, and the messaging they choose has a lasting impact.
Avoid linking behavior to the receiving of gifts.
Parents can use ritual and tradition to bring magic to the season while still following developmentally respectful parenting practices.

--- LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

For further exploration, please visit:

Episode 5. Ways to cultivate connection with children and stressed out parents:

https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcasts/language-alchemy-podcast/episodes/2147575436

Download Caroline’s Essential Respectful Discipline Toolbox: https://www.fertilegroundparenting.com/respectful-discipline-toolbox

For more resources about communication, go to:

https://www.languagealchemy.com/blogandvideo

To ask your communication questions, click here:

https://www.languagealchemy.com/podcastquestion

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www.languagealchemy.com

Podcast Music composed by Gary Lapow: