New Family Phrases

When my daughter was a baby, every time I’d try to clean her messy, after-mealtime hands, she’d throw a fit.

She’d cry and fuss, and I wondered if I’d ever get her hands clean in a quick and easy way.
Until, one day, I saw my sister-in-law wipe my daughter’s hands effortlessly.
No screams, no struggle and maybe even a smile of delight!

The trick? She sang a little ditty.

It was as simple as just sing-songing the names of the fingers: thumb, pointer, middle, ring, pinky, with an extra emphasis on the {puh} in pinky!

I quickly adopted her method, of course, and it made mealtimes and clean up so much easier for me — for all three babies!

I don’t know how you feel, but for me? I have so much to learn about parenting, and I’ve found that some of my best resources are the people around me. Sometimes having a simple phrase changes everything.

This month I’m jumping into the Nester’s annual 31 days of October series. I planned to title this series “Mama Maxims” because I like the definition of maxim {and I love alliteration}:

Maxim: a short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct

But I changed my mind, worried about what would come up if someone googled the title.

This might not be called Mama maxims, but that’s kind of what it is. We’re working toward a new “family lingo” this October, replacing some of our negative reactive statements with ones that are hopefully more helpful in the situation. Plan B? “Family Phrases”

I will share some of the phrases I’ve learned that have helped me guide, train, and direct my little ones.

31 days all on parenting phrases? You might ask.

You and I both know that there is a lot I don’t know about parenting. I will admit again and again that I have sooooo much room to grow and soooo much to learn. But the phrases and maxims I’ll be sharing this month are words I’ve learned from others and they have really helped me be a better Mama. They’ve helped give me more freedom!

If you met me in real life, you’d know that a lot of times I’m short on words, especially in the moment. I need time to process and think.

With my kids, in those critical moments of knowing how to respond or what to say, having a response already prepared helps me stay calm and helps me be more consistent. I’m also able to better follow-through on expectations.

I’ve found that these phrases give me freedom, but each phrase has also helped my kids.

They know what to expect from me and what is expected of them. They are learning consistency.

As parents, we often roll our eyes when we have to say the same thing over and over and over again, but kids need repetition!

Because young children don’t always have the ability to transfer knowledge from one setting to another, kids need to hear the same reminders over and over again. Parenting includes training, and training isn’t a one time, done deal.

I’m hoping that these Family Phrases will give you a little freedom too.

I hope that, like me, these simple phrases will

• buy you time to calm down when you feel irritated
• help you articulate positive correction to your children and
• help you more lovingly, consistently encourage your children in doing what is right instead of getting sucked into the crazy cycle of arguing, complaining or belittling our children.

Will you join me this month as we dive into the depths of discipline and direction? {There I go with the alliteration again!}

I want to hear your feedback throughout the month, so please jump in to the comments and let’s help each other grow!

xoxo

erika
Check out the rest of the series! 

• New Family Phrases {Intro}
• It’s Not What You Say
• Look at My Eyes
• Fear and Formulas and a Good Christian Home
• Try That Again – Practicing Right Responses
• Try That Again – Addressing Fear and Failure
• The Right Thing, The Wrong Way
• A New Phrase and a Fantastic Resource
• Badgering Kids
• How to Handle Conflict Over Toys
• Teaching Kids to Honor Others
• {Day 12}
• {Day 13}
• {Day 14}
• {Day 15}
• {Day 16}
• {Day 17}
• {Day 18}
• {Day 19}
• {Day 20}
• {Day 21}
• {Day 22}
• {Day 23}
• {Day 24}
• {Day 25}
• {Day 26}
• {Day 27}
• {Day 28}
• {Day 29}
• {Day 30}
• {Day 31}