Pieces to the Puzzle: Helping Parents and Children Fit Together

By Dana Thomas, Ed.S, CPDCE, CPDPE

There are no perfect children and there are no perfect parents. Each day, we do our best to parent our children, and some days are better than others. One aspect of parenting that makes it especially challenging, is that there is no “one size fits all” solution. Each parent is unique, as is each child.  Sometimes there is a great temperament and personality fit between a parent and a child, and those relationships tend to be less rocky. Sometimes, however, personalities clash, and when that occurs, interactions tend to be more challenging, and patience can be much harder to establish and maintain.

Every person in a family is a piece to a puzzle, and we need to find a way to all “fit” together, even when personalities and temperaments collide.  Identifying the characteristics, strengths and preferences of each person (or puzzle piece) is a great place to start.  Positive Discipline provides numerous activities to assist parents and children in identifying strengths as well as preferences.

When I started on my Positive Discipline journey, I spent some time participating in activities that focused on my characteristics and my personality traits. It was eye opening.  I had been focusing all of my attention and energies on my kids, asking myself, “Why did they…” or “Why didn’t they…” but really, the first question could have been, “What did I do?” “How did I manage that situation?” Because, we, as parents are the captains of the ship, we set the course and the family tries to follow along.

Come to the Positive Discipline workshop on April 18 at Centered Therapy Chicago and spend some time looking at the temperaments of your children, as well as your own temperament. Leave with practical and easy to use tools and solutions that match the people in your house, helping all of the pieces to fit comfortably together into the family puzzle.