Creative Child January 2018 | Page 20

special Feature 4. Ask yourself whom you’re disappointed with. As parents, we become the most frustrated when we feel helpless. But in the heat of the moment, it’s important to step back and assess if we’re disappointed with the behavior of our kids, or we’re disappointed with ourselves. Anger often feels like one big cloudy mess, but it’s important to let time diffuse the situation so we can sift through it and see which feelings are the result of our own disappointment, and which have resulted from our kids. Then consider if we’re being realistic in our expectations of our kids – and of ourselves. 19