Episode 105 | How to Manage Emotions as a Family

When we recognize the root of our feelings, family life can be more manageable for everyone involved. Help your kids deal with their big feelings and set yourself free from extra guilt and shame.

Bio

Michelle Nietert MA, LPC–S is an author and speaker and Clinical Director of Community Counseling Associates in Dallas, TX. She’s a former educator and school counselor with over 20 years of experience in private practice treating individuals, couples, children and teens. Michelle’s writing can be found on the MOPS blog, in Lifeway’s Parenting Magazine and she is the Mental Health columnist for Just Between Us Magazine. To discover more about Michelle as Your Mental Health Coach, the Raising Brave Beauties podcast, and her energetic speaking expertise that empowers and inspires, please visit www.MichelleNietert.com.

We begin by talking about how 2020 has impacted families everywhere and Michelle affirms why it’s okay to spend time away from our kids.

Major milestones of the tween and teen years
Empowering children to struggle well
They will experience disappointments, rejection, and all the awkward moments we faced. We can’t bubble-wrap them from those things.
Struggling well vs. just struggling.
Brave flexibility and plasticity. We want our kids to be flexible like pipe cleaners, not breakable like popsicle sticks.
Keeping a good perspective so emotions don’t go everywhere.

“Your kid’s behavior is not your parenting report card. Your behavior is.”

Emotional Management & Self Regulation
The most important skill you can teach a 2 year old
The difference between a tantrum based in disobedience vs. a sensory meltdown.
Consider the components of children’s behavior in these areas:
Strengths & Weaknesses
Temperament (introvert or extrovert)
Considering special needs
Learning the degrees of emotion and the coping and calm down techniques we can practice alongside our kids.
The change that happens with older kids and why we need to become a coach and ask more questions
Important information about brain development
When to check for abnormalities like learning disabilities, auditory processes
When to check with the experts for “typical” teen behaviors
How to help prepare our kids for the inevitable.