We all have beliefs. They help us make sense of our lives. Beliefs are developed when we are very young and for the most part, we don’t do much to update them. Beliefs influence our attitudes, decisions, and the discipline strategies we use with our kids. Our beliefs can be at times – limiting and interfere with strong, loving, healthy relationships. In fact, sometimes, our beliefs can cause some real trouble in our lives. And most often, that trouble takes the form of an Over-The-Top-Explosion about something our child does – like tell a lie, or steal a cookie, or call you stupid, or refuse to brush their teeth, or flunk a test, or tell you to shut-up. You with me?

Think of your beliefs as the supplies you bring on your parenting journey. Consider the freshness and effectiveness of these supplies. Ask yourself if you are satisfied with the supplies you have or are these current supplies getting in the way of your ability to parent from your best?

Have you ever said, “My children know just how to push my buttons?” This is not uncommon and is often said when our children do something that is not in line with our beliefs. When our “buttons are pushed”, we overreact, feel like the worst parents in the world and then use this excuse to justify our bad behavior and our choice to resort to using interfering and disrespectful parenting strategies (like sending a child to their room, putting them on restriction or yelling at them for 15 minutes about what they did wrong – OUCH!).

Understanding your beliefs can aid you in uncovering the reasons why you “react” to certain behaviors or situations more intensely than others. Instead of feeling badly about the way you reacted, you can use a simple and powerful tool to understand your beliefs AND to update them if need be. When you understand your beliefs, you realize that you have a choice as to what you will do about the situation that is causing you distress and you are then in a position to change the outcome.

The Parenting On Track™ program will offer you a chance to challenge old beliefs (buttons) and develop a way to get beyond those knee-jerk reactions and to see your children for who they really are. The result, you’ll be parenting in a more effective, purposeful, intentional way – a way that we often refer to as parenting from your best. And we know that when we parent from our best, we create the space for our children to be their best (selves).