How to De-escalate Situations with Strong Willed Kids When They’re Upset - with Kirk Martin of Celebrate Calm

On this episode of The Fresh Start Family Show, Wendy chats with the funny and insightful Kirk Martin, founder of Celebrate Calm and host of the Calm Parenting podcast.  They explore 3 tools we can use to help de-escalate situations with our strong-willed kids when they’re upset that are effective and actually create closeness when parenting a strong-willed kiddo: Self-Regulation: We must control our own emotions first before we address the child. The quickest way to change your child’s behavior is to first control your own. Movement: Motion changes emotion. Sometimes talking makes kids more upset. Use movement to help calm an upset child. Connection: Relationships change behavior. Staying connected, especially during discipline creates trust & safety, which kids NEED in order to learn effective self-regulation.  Strong-willed kids are incredible, AND they can often be misunderstood. This episode gives us a fresh and empowered perspective on these kiddos and how to support their big feelings. For links & more info about everything discussed in this episode, head to www.freshstartfamilyonline.com/155. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices