Are all kids great?
The short answer, yes.
Not convinced? Fine, I'll explain further. I guess it makes sense since you're here. Most parents find me and my Sacramento Child Therapy practice when they're in distress. When their kids are making not great choices or when their behaviors on the surface don't appear great.
All behaviors (yes, all...even yours) are a cry for love and connection. Small humans learned to survive evolutionarily by attaching to their caregivers. That attachment is affirmed when your child (us too) feels safe and loved. Children's brains are also a bit different from yours and mine. They are still developing their prefrontal cortex.
The prefrontal cortex is the front part of our brain underneath our foreheads and continues to develop until our mid-twenties. This part of our brain helps us with executive functioning, self-regulation, and self-awareness. In other words this part of our brain helps us keep our shit together.
Sometimes we loose our shit and our kids do too. This doesn't take away our inner wealth or inherent greatness. But it is a time when we can help teach our children and ourselves how to regulate and watch out for warning signs in the future. For more awesome brain development information and kick-ass parenting tips check out pretty much anything by Dan Siegel.
A really great children's book that will connect you and your child plus provide lots of reminders of their greatness is To Your Greatness by Catherine Stafford and Howard Glasser.
What are some other ways to shift your perspective and find greatness - especially when things are not great? I'd love to hear your greatness detective skills. Email me at renee@parenthoodprep.com
If you're feeling like you'd like some professional greatness detective work give me a call and we can brainstorm together 916-572-7623
To your greatness!
Love,
R