FPS Practical Parenting Presents Making Children Mind without Losing Yours: Battle at Dawn by Melissa Seal

Do You Ever Feel Like…

Things We Will Cover What can I do about Morning Drama? What can I do when my child doesn’t want to be left at school?

Morning Drama How do I get my child to get up in the morning? Reality Therapy Principle You can’t MAKE another person do anything, you GUIDE him/her in such a way that reality makes him do what he/she needs to do

Can’t Get ‘em Up in the Morning Crisis Remove yourself from all responsibility Don’t cooperate with being a human alarm clock Provide him/her an alarm clock and set it

Does This Look Familiar?

Tips for Helping Your Child Come to School Practice separation Leave your child with a caregiver Develop a “goodbye” ritual Make a special kind of wave or special phrase you say together Practice Use puppets or act out how to go to school in the morning

Tips for Helping Your Child Come to School Check your Mama Drama, is it more your anxiety or theirs? Tell your child you are leaving, you will see them after school, and goodbye Then LEAVE and don’t turn around, no matter what Resist the urge to hang around and peek through windows. Kids know and it will make your child feel worse Don’t give in, no matter how heartbreaking

Tips for Helping Your Child Come to School Natural Consequences Explain to your child that if they cry and make a scene about you walking them to their classroom, you won’t walk them in anymore AND MEAN IT! This is not about YOU, it’s about your child’s development

Tips for Helping Your Child Come to School If your child is having trouble when YOU drop them off, get someone else to drop them off for a while This can break the cycle of drop off drama Encourage positive talk when they get home about the fun things they did at school Minimize stress before school starts Make reward chart for Going to School Gracefully

“I’m the parent! I’m the Parent! I’m the PARENT!” Now What? Make it happen, changes start with you. Success comes in a CAN, not in a CAN’T Keep telling yourself, “I’m the parent! I’m the Parent! I’m the PARENT!”