I had a life changing experience a few weeks ago that significantly altered and enhanced how I parent.  This transformative experience occurred during my recent interview with our Mommybites Summit keynote speaker Hal Runkel for a column for NY Family Magazine.  Hal Rankel is world renown for his “Scream Free” approach to parenting. When I asked him before the interview started how this “Scream Fee” model came about, here is what he said:

“I was in graduate school and at the same time I had two little kids, and I was learning all this great information but I became frustrated because all the best parenting information was still couched in this academic language. I wanted to figure out how to take this material that I was finding so life changing and translate it into a working language for regular folks in a way that was actionable. I wanted to find a model that lead parents to not feeling judged but rather inspired.  I wanted parents to feel more capable. To stand a little taller. To not think they need to have everything figured out – there’s no such thing! I wanted parents to feel, “I can handle myself no matter what comes my way. There will be things I can’t predict but I feel capable and confident.”

Here’s to my favorite quote to parents form Hal Runkel: “Kids are going to act like kids. The real question is, how old are you going to act.”

To read my interview with Hal and his ScreamFree philosophy in its entirety and see why this model changed my parenting style for the better, please click here.

Question: What are your thoughts on the Scream Free model?  Have you begun to implement it in your home? We’d love to hear from you, please share your thoughts below.

Best,

Heather

heather@kiddybites.com

The birth of a new baby is always an adjustment for an older sibling. So how can you make the adjustment easier for the big sister/big brother?

TIP #1: Being called the “big brother” or “big sister” may NOT be so appealing to your older child. Now they are expected to take on all these new responsibilities (toddler bed, potty training, etc.) and the baby gets to be held all the time and has no responsibilities whatsoever! So don’t overdo the “you’re the BIG sibling” phrase.

TIP #2: Be aware of how everyone stops to admire a new baby but very few (if any!) stop to admire a big sibling.

TIP #3: After someone stops to admire the baby, tell your older child how you remember how “everyone used to stop and admire you when you were a baby. Everyone thought you had the cutest…”

TIP #4: Reminisce with some humorous moments from the past. “I remember dressing you in all pink and still people would say “what a cute boy you have! People are so silly.”

TIP #5: It’s especially helpful to talk about the older sibling when she was a baby while you are caring for the baby (changing the baby, feeding the baby) because those are the times your older sibling will feel left out!