“Kids really count on us to help them out of a rut. For really intense kids, we are the best chance they have at navigating those big angry feelings. We have to be up for the challenge. They need our help. They are not out to get us.”
“Emotion is energy in motion. It‘s going to come out one way or another.”
“We need to teach children that feelings don’t stay so big forever. They will eventually subside just like waves that crash against the shoreline. They do eventually recede and go away.”
“If we happen to raise our voice, because we are human beings ourselves, I can say, I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, I wish I had calmed myself down more first. What can we do better next time? Not one of us is perfect. But I always say this; Who better to raise a human child than a fellow human being?”
“Our ability to keep our cool and walk our children through the process of calming themselves down is going to contribute significantly to their own ability to learn self regulation skills. We are the model.”
“I am a human being and my children are human beings. We are not exempt from that. We are going to have our feelings and so are they. My role is to decide how to respond to them effectively, lovingly and in a supportive manner that is going to bring them closer to the best versions of themselves.”