Burnt Toast : Just Make Another Slice
The little things in life pick at us. They drive us crazy bit by bit until we break and go off the deep end. When you have kids the little things can be amplified and turn into big things quickly if we let them. But as adults we must learn that even though our toast gets burnt we just need to make another slice.
But how do we keep our cool? How do we overlook those little things that drive us nuts and let the little things stay little things? I talked about previously how to use the scout laws to be a better parent but here are some ideas to help us overlook that burnt toast.
Use the little things as a learning experience
When your child does something small that bothers you, use it as a chance for behavior correction. Stop them and explain to them in a calm manner that what they are doing is wrong or inappropriate and they need to stop. This is hard for me because my first reaction is to snap or raise my voice to “stop that”. And really this does little to correct the behavior and some kids will even take that action as a reason to keep doing that behavior.
Photo by Tamas Pap on Unsplash
Lower your expectations
Our little ones are not going to be perfect. In fact they will be far from perfect. Just think about our own lives. How many times did we drive our parents nuts by acting out or going against their wishes. So lower your expectation that what your child is going to do is always going to please you. In fact expect that they will do things to annoy you.
Ignore the behavior (to a point)
If what they are doing is not destructive or harmful you can always try ignoring the behavior. Typically kids will make noise or mess with something to get attention or a reaction out of you. But this strange thing happens when you just pretend you didn’t notice. Most of the time they will stop doing it and just move on. But if the behavior continues over and over then it is time to step up to correcting the behavior.
Remind yourself that their brains are not fully developed
Studies show that humans brains don’t develop fully until they are 25. This is always an amazing statistic and puzzling at the same time. When your child does something that is bothering you remember that they just are not quite there yet. Even if it is a teenager who you have told a thousand times there is so much going on it probably has not set in yet to stop doing that.
Our children get on our nerves about a thousand times a day. Okay maybe not a thousand but when you look back at your day and realize what annoyed you wasn’t that big of a deal. And I promise as they get older sometimes you miss those times they annoyed you all day (maybe just for a minute).
What are some of your ways to help overcome the little things? Leave a comment or drop a note on our Facebook page
Burnt Toast Photo by Leti Kugler on Unsplash
Your tips are so timely. With all of the together time families have had lately, patience has been tested for sure. Thanks for the post.
Great post!
I’m constantly reminding myself that my daughter just isn’t quite there yet. It does really help.
Thank you for sharing.
Great post, very to the point! I have a difficult child who excels at mimicking complex social interactions. Raising your voice just improves her yelling so now I adopt the sweetest tone anytime she tantrums and it snaps her outof it.
My kids are teenagers and I sometimes expect them to be more mature and understand timing better. But, the truth is they’re small kids in big bodies. To think our minds don’t fully develop until the age of 25 puts my unrealistic expectations as a parent into perspective. Thank you for the wonderful insight.
Very interesting post. I try too be fairly relaxed about things, but kids have a way of knowing how to push your buttons 😂
Great Post. With my girls, they’re all experts in their own field of how to piss off the parents sometimes it’s fairly easy to ignore it when you know they’re after a reaction. Others as you say a calm correction but sometimes it becomes world war 3. Full meltdown for being told no and ends either with them being in trouble.
This is such a positive post! I think we all could use a little self-reflection at times and love your mantra of “Just make another slice”! Thanks for sharing!
Lots of great advice on there. My two are 11 & 14 and it’s still best to ignore stuff to a certain point with them, rather than getting wound up.
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