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Finding Patience with Your Kids
For parents and caregivers who love their children and still find themselves snapping. Each day is one small way to slow down a hard moment, so there is more room for calm, warmth and repair at home.
Parenting · Parenting · Anger · Family · one to-do a day · you choose how many days
The first seven days
- Day 1Notice where irritation first shows up in your body today, such as a tight jaw or hot face, and name it silently when it arrives.
- Day 2Before you answer your child the next time you feel snappy, take one slow breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Day 3Lower your voice on purpose the next time a request goes unheard, and see whether your child leans in to listen.
- Day 4Get down to your little one's eye level for one instruction today instead of calling it across the room.
- Day 5Say your child's feeling out loud once today, for example, "You're really frustrated that the tower fell."
- Day 6Pick tomorrow morning's clothes with your child tonight so there is one less thing to negotiate before school.
- Day 7If you snap today, go back within the hour and say, "I'm sorry I yelled. You didn't deserve that."
Further into the year
The to-dos keep changing as the year goes on. A few from later in this theme:
- Day 30Put a glass of water by your bed tonight and drink it first thing tomorrow before the kids wake up.
- Day 60Look for one thing your child did today that showed kindness, and tell them you noticed.
- Day 120Let your child choose where to sit at dinner tonight, and talk about something fun from their day.
- Day 240Unplug from your phone for the first fifteen minutes after you get home with the kids.
- Day 365Notice how far you've come with patience at home, and share one example with someone you trust.
How a challenge works
A Theraglee challenge is a theme with one small to-do for every day of a year. You choose how long yours runs, anywhere from a week to the full year, and each day you get the next to-do: something that takes a few minutes and fits inside an ordinary day. Tick it off when it is done. Nothing is scored and nothing is lost if you miss a day; the next to-do is simply waiting when you come back.
Challenges come with a free Theraglee account, which never asks for a card. Your progress stays private to you.