Side Stepping Power Struggles
Development Nicholas Kukla Development Nicholas Kukla

Side Stepping Power Struggles

#Realtalk to start: I know all of this stuff. I teach all of this stuff. And I can still step right into power struggles. This is a conscious practice, not a perfected formula. The following list helps us raise our awareness, instill values in our children by teaching overarching lessons instead of micromanaging daily routines.

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Words of Power & Empathy: Part 1
Development Nicholas Kukla Development Nicholas Kukla

Words of Power & Empathy: Part 1

Empowering our children requires parents to consciously find ways to give them a healthy level of control while still providing security through setting boundaries. Empathy calls for a thorough understanding and interpretation of our child’s development, temperament, and compassion for their struggles. Ultimately, this is what led to Play With Purpose’s inception - a calling to educate parents to empower their children.

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Words of Power & Empathy: Part 2
Development Nicholas Kukla Development Nicholas Kukla

Words of Power & Empathy: Part 2

Now that we understand our child’s development and how to set developmentally appropriate expectations, we need to “speak their language” and communicate in a clear, concise, yet an empathetic way. In order to do this, we need to be aware of common abstract terms and phrases we use with our children.

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Think Time: A Follow-Up Strategy
Development Nicholas Kukla Development Nicholas Kukla

Think Time: A Follow-Up Strategy

After my own self-reflection, I decided I wanted to pass this along to other parents who may try to use behavior reflections during their every day interactions at home. The strategy I will share and discuss is: “Think-Time”, commonly known in the education world as “Wait-Time”.

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Behavior Reflections: The Next Step
Development Nicholas Kukla Development Nicholas Kukla

Behavior Reflections: The Next Step

Drawing boundaries and teaching our children how to operate within them, is a responsibility we all share as parents. We can successfully navigate these “learning opportunities” without shaming (“Why would you do that?!”), threatening (“If you do that one more time, I’ll….) or other punitive punishment strategies. This requires some thoughtfulness, on our side, first. 

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