Video game battles?

By Carol Dores

As the hot days of summer kick in, it’s easy to get lazy. Laying around, watching television, playing video games, texting friends. It’s often easier as a parent to just let it happen rather than fight with our kids.

So how can you encourage your children to do other things?

· Sit together as a family, and come up with a list of other things to do. They don’t need to involve spending money, and can include making shaved ice, then flavoring it. Going for a hike in the woods. Getting sidewalk chalk and drawing together, or playing hopscotch on the driveway. Write each idea on a piece of paper, and then when they are looking for something to do, have them randomly select one. Or keep the list on the refrigerator, so they can go pick something.

· Talk about and agree to how much time is lazy time. Then let go, and let them enjoy their lazy time doing what they want. And you can enjoy lazy time too doing what you want! If agreements are not kept, ask “what was our agreement?” and stay silent, waiting for an answer. If this keeps happening, sit down again, and discuss until a different mutually acceptable solution is agreed upon.

· Learn to do something together as a family. Yoga or meditation is great for calming down, and summer is a great time to learn and practice it. It can help children self soothe.

As the long days of summer continue, try to relax and enjoy one another. We can also learn a bit of laziness from our children!

Want to learn more Positive Discipline tools and strategies to have a more peaceful home? Visit www.positivedisciplinect.org.

Want to be added to our email list to receive tips & tools, class updates, and more? Click here http://eepurl.com/8eOZj

#positivediscipline #problemsolving #peacefulhome #lazy #agreements #familytime