203: From Fear to Cheer: Transform Your Holiday Parenting

Warning: today I’m going to present an idea that you may not want your kids to hear, so I recommend listening to this when you’re away from your children. 

The holiday season is upon us, and there are so many things about this season that I love; cozying up by the fire, watching football games, the general sense of the occasion and that it’s a special time of year. But there is something that I don’t love, and you might not even realize you’re doing it.

You might have heard of Elf on the Shelf, and you might even be using it as a way to make sure your kids behave during the holiday season. You know the drill – you tell your kids that if they misbehave, the elf will see everything and tell Santa not to bring them any presents. But there’s a big issue with using the elf in this way, and I’m explaining my problem with it this week.

In this episode, I’m sharing why using Elf on the Shelf as a tool to keep your kids behaving during the holidays is actually fear-based parenting. I’m showing you how to stop using Elf on the Shelf as a tool for punishment and instead start using it to connect with your kids, and some tips to help you move away from fear-based parenting during the holidays.

What You'll Learn:

• What fear-based parenting is and why it’s such a problem.

• How you might be applying fear-based parenting without realizing it.

• Some tips for using Elf on the Shelf as a tool for connection and cooperation with your kids.

• Why getting curious, not furious, is even more important at this time of year.

• How the holidays might bring extra emotions for your children and why you need to let them have them.

• Why threats and punishments are never the way to get your kids to behave.

• How to notice if you’re using fear-based parenting around the holidays.