How To Keep Your Sense Of Humor When Parenting Kids Of All Ages
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Loading... - Simo Essuma
- 24 Aug 2022
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Children can expand your heart and push your buttons like no one else. Being able to laugh at what happens, at your reactions, and sometimes at life itself helps ease the journey.
Maintaining a sense of humor is particularly important when raising ADHD and non-ADHD kids.
Everybody does things they’re proud of as a parent and things that they wish they hadn’t. Having compassion for yourself when you stumble enables you to giggle at your foibles without bombarding yourself with shame.
Self-blame or criticism of others often intensifies small incidents into full-blown explosions. Turning to humor in challenging situations reduces the chance of a meltdown and helps you recover from setbacks more easily.
Manage parenting stress with humor
As a parent, you need to set a good example for your kids by using a tone that brings humor, boundaries, and self-expression to difficult situations. Raising ADHD kids comes with a unique set of challenges. Managing your emotions and expectations helps keep you calm while keeping life’s ups and downs in perspective.
Knowing how to laugh at yourself when you trip up really takes the edge off many challenging situations. Sometimes we get so caught up in the seriousness of parenting, that we forget the role humor plays in handling our own stress and creating a calm and pleasant atmosphere for the whole family.
Reduce tension with levity
When you inject levity into challenging situations, you shift the conversation away from annoyance and aggravation. This requires some self-control and creativity but the rewards are plentiful. When you look at yourself and your reactions differently, you’ll take the first step toward diffusing tension.
You’re not only modeling this for your ADHD child as an effective coping tool, but you’ll also feel better and they will too.
For example, when kids speak to you in a disrespectful tone, you have a choice. You can angrily tell them “You’re not allowed to speak to me that way. Go to your room.” Or, you can say: “Fresh is for vegetables, not speaking to me like that.” The first option throws fuel on the fire; the second one dampens the flames. Read More...
