Angela's family--particularly her three daughters of very different ages--have been living on top of each other for a year (since COVID started), and their frustration is spilling over. Often they'll get along great, but often they'll get on each other's nerves. Emotions explode and stress ensues.

Today, Angela and I talk about how to deal healthily and effectively with this kind of situation. We talk about the importance of alone time and how helpful it is to have a buzzword or -phrase when you need it. We discuss how helpful it can be to sit down together and brainstorm solutions to different scenarios, and how this practice is a great opportunity to teach your kids about trial and error. We talk about how everyone is allowed to have feelings--it's how you show and process them that sometimes needs work. We talk about how, as the parent, you can talk about your own feelings to your children to let them know that you struggle with emotions too. We also discuss the importance of using consistent terminology with your kids when talking about emotions so that they can learn to identify what they're feeling in a given moment.

"It's so natural for people to get on each other's nerves, even when you love them and they love you." - Sue Groner

This week on The Parenting Mentor:

• The importance of giving yourself and your family permission to take alone time
• The effectiveness of brainstorming solutions together
• Why everyone is allowed to have feelings
• The importance of talking about and identifying your own emotions with your kids

Meet the Parenting Mentor

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Here, you can listen in on real sessions with parents who open up about the specific challenges they face with children from 2 to 22. Listen along and gain perspectives and strategies to help you parent with sanity and joy.

Visit theparentingmentor.com for notes on this show, more episodes, and all the ways to subscribe, and don't forget to pick up my book, Parenting with Sanity and Joy: 101 Simple Strategies, which includes my Nine Golden Rules of Parenting.

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