Transcript
Curk Martin (0:00)
Hey moms and dads, don't you just.
Skylight Calendar (0:02)
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Curk Martin (1:20)
Do you have a child who constantly whines and complains and throws tantrums? Of course you do, because you're a parent and I know it's irritating and exhausting, but I have some great strategies to stop these tantrums. So that is what we're going to discuss on this episode of the Calm Parenting Podcast. So welcome. This is Curk Martin, founder of Celebrate Calm. You can find us@celebratecalm.com or if you want, just go to calmparentingpodcast.com goes to the same place. You need help? Reach out to our son Casey, who no longer complains unless he's really hot. And you can reach him at Casey C A S e y@celebratecalm.com Tell us about your family, what you're struggling with. We'll be happy to provide action steps and direct you to the right resources to finally make these changes. So we get this email all the time. How do I get my kids to stop the constant whining, complaining and tantrums? Let me take you through my thought processes here and it will irritate you a little bit. But if you will embrace this, it will free you and and liberate you for the rest of your life from trying to manage and control everybody else's behavior and emotions. Number one, expect it. They're supposed to do it. They're Kids, their job description is to whine and complain and throw tantrums to try to get what they want. Why? Because they're immature little beings. It's what they've done since the beginning of time. It would be weird if your kids were like, you know what, Mother, father, I'm going to accept exactly what you say. I'm just going to trust that you have my best interests at heart, and I'm just going to choose to be grateful for what I have right now. Look, you don't even do that, and neither do I. We all have our different ways of whining, complaining, and throwing our own tantrums. We do. The sooner that you expect this. I'm not saying you have to like it. I'm not saying it's right. Just learn to expect it. Although, otherwise you're going to be in this constant thing. As a parent of, like, why this idea? If we just did this right way, we raised our kids right, we were good parents and we prayed over them, we did all this stuff that they would just always behave well. Where'd you get that idea? It's not born in anything in history. You weren't like that. If you were as a kid, it was probably because you needed to be the perfect little one who. So you could get your mom or dad's acceptance and affirmation. We don't want kids doing that because that's unhealthy. So just expect it. Look, moms and dads, I'm encouraging you normalize some of this stuff. It's what kids do. Number two, your job description is to not react at all. I want you to sit in it and get comfortable with the fact that your child is not always going to be happy and also get comfortable with the fact that. That you don't have to fix it. It's a really hard pattern to break, but it's critical or your child will learn to control your emotions honestly for the rest of your life. Because they're going to learn how to do it. They're going to see that little. They're going to see that little thing in your eyes, in your face, which is like, oh, my child's not happy. Oh, they're struggling. Oh, I don't have time for this. Oh, I can't put up with this. So we really need to dig down into this. Look, you are not responsible for everybody else's happiness and emotions. You're responsible for your own. And I really encourage you, work through the 30 days to calm and work through the straight talk for moms program. It will help you break these patterns. It is so liberating. Guys, you need to learn that you don't have to fix your wife's emotions. You need to have the maturity to accept and validate her emotions and then create some space to allow her to process so that you can listen to her without having to fix her. And if you're a couple, I give you this homework. Moms go through the straight talk for moms program. Dad, go through the men's program. We have work on one individual issue that you have because you have dozens and as do I. And then ask your spouse for help working on your issue, not theirs. Right? Hey, honey, I've noticed that I have this pattern where I dismiss your feelings, where I try to fix everything. I have this pattern where I try to control everything so everything goes just right. Will you help me with that? See, that would be a very vulnerable, awesome thing to do together. See, you'll change your relationship more by working on yourself than by trying to change your spouse. It's the same thing with your kids. You'll get much better results much more quickly if you change yourself first rather than trying to fix your kid. See, once you've done that for a bit, then go through the Calm Couples University together. This process will change you inside and all of your relationships. It's really cool. Number three. I want you to sit right in the midst of it when your kids are throwing a tantrum. Just sit and observe, and I'll share a script I used with 1500 kids in our home, all of whom threw tantrums and whined and complained. In fact, I wanted them to do so the first day they came to our home because I wanted to set the tone of how things would work in our home. Look, it's really not hard to get your kids to have a tantrum. You just say no to them once and they predictably whine or throw a tantrum. So let me define something. First, a meltdown and a tantrum are two different things. To me, a meltdown is when something's highly emotional, something's going on inside your child, and they've lost control emotionally. Their face is all red, right? And there's nothing logical going on them then. And that's why words don't work, and words tend to make things worse. But a tantrum is logical and rational. Your child's not dysregulated at this point. He or she simply wants something, and you said no. So being an immature human, your child reacts by whining, complaining, Throwing himself on the floor. Anything he or she can do to try to get you to change your mind to get one what they want. So many of these things are just human nature. Stop being shocked by it. I can't believe that my child. Why can't you believe that you did it when you were a kid? All kids do it. Once you accept that this is part of this ongoing dance between parent and child, these episodes will lose their sting. You can actually smile inside because you know what's going on. So stop. Look, I know you're gonna hate me for this, but it's. And I'm okay with that. Hate me all you want, but I'd rather liberate you from this. Stop all your own drama over this. I can't believe my child can't be grateful for everything we've done. Oh, are you doing everything for them so that they now owe you gratitude or obedience? See, that's a nasty pattern you've got to break. No blame, no guilt. Moms and dads just stop the drama and stop your own complaining about their complaining. Because you end up writing to me, whining about your child, always whining. So don't take it personally and don't react. You don't have to. So whether it was with Casey or with the kids who came to our home, I learned very quickly to disappoint them on purpose by saying no to something. Right? Some of you. Now look, some of you say no to everything. That's not good either. So here are a few options for you. When your kids predictably whine, complain or throw a tantrum, I want you to sit down and observe. Observe them and just say this in a flat, non emotional, matter of fact tone. Look, we've got two rules in our home for tantrums. The first is this. We do everything with excellence around here. So if you're going to flail away, I want you to do it with excellence. Give me everything you got. Because the second rule is that your tantrums, whining and complaining will never, ever, ever, ever, ever work in my home. It's just a waste of time now. And you say this as you kind of stand up and begin walking somewhere to carry on your task. Now, if you want to talk to me, we can problem solve this situation, but otherwise the answer is always going to be no. So let me know what you decide and then you give your child some space. Let me go through that again. I just sit in the midst of it. You don't have to say that about. We ever do everything with excellence. And so but here's the tone and here's what your actions need to communicate very clearly. This just isn't going to work. It won't ever work. It's not going to work when I'm tired. It's not going to work when I'm mad at your mom or dad. It's not going to work in public. It's just not going to work with me.
