Maybe one of the keys to good parenting is having empathy for your children in some of their most vulnerable moments.
So often I am upset and vent to my wife about some issue. I know she can’t solve my problem. But it’s never about that.
I just want to be understood, to have my emotion validated in some way.
Maybe kids are the same?
Maybe empathy is the place to start?
Crazy how much I enjoy being that all-important grown-up to a group of little loves.
Once I was aware of what I was doing, I was determined to change. But I wasn’t sure how to go about it. What finally helped me most was actually putting myself in my children’s shoes. I asked myself, “Suppose I were a child who was tired, or hot or bored? And suppose I wanted that all-important grown-up in my life to know what I was feeling . . . ?”
-Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (Amazon)