https://www.facebook.com/2231962063791485/

Post Modern Parent, Chicago, IL (2025)

02/18/2022

Sometimes we can overcomplicate parenting or feel inundated by the differing amount of parenting choices, decisions, and styles.

When in doubt, here’s a great resource to have in your back pocket to help ground you.

If your child consistently feels safe, seen, and supported, then they are going to feel secure. Studies show that when children have secure attachments with their caregivers, they tend to lead happier and more fulfilling lives.

So how can you use this framework in your child’s daily life?

SAFE: Your primary job is to keep our child safe and do no harm. That means not using fear tactics, punishment, or threats. You want your child to feel connected to you and for your home to be a haven.

SEEN: Truly SEE your child. Be curious about their inner lives, observe them and take time to get to know them. This requires slowing down and opening up space to let them show you who they are (not who we want them to be).

SOOTHED: When your child is going through a difficult time, be with them. Even though they still might suffer, they know they are not alone. This also teaches strategies to help calm down and self-regulate.

SECURE: This results from consistently doing the first three.

Grab Dan Siegel’s refrigerator sheet on this! 👇

https://drdansiegel.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/POSU-Refrigerator-Sheet.pdf

02/09/2022

Have you found yourself saying “no, no no!” over and over again with your toddler and still getting the same results?

Here’s a quick positive discipline tip on getting out of impulsive reactions.

Do not underestimate the power of;

✨Narrating the behavior you see

✨Validating and acknowledging their experience and feelings

✨Setting clear limits and boundaries

When a child feels understood and heard, it can magically deescalate a lot of tantrums and problematic behaviors. Now doing this doesn’t mean they still won't push boundaries, protest, complain, whine (that’s their job as they’re learning).

However, when we connect, show empathy and validate their experience while still holding our non-negotiables, we’re providing just the right mix of love, support, and healthy boundaries.

02/01/2022

You might be thinking, what’s so wrong with distraction - it works?!

The tricky part about distraction is that it DOES work. It’s natural to want our kids discomfort or frustration to end immediately, especially when we’re tired or trying to accomplish something. It’s also easier to stop an undesirable behavior by throwing them a different toy or by distracting them so they aren’t causing havoc in your living room…

But the thing about distraction is that it actually doesn’t align with respectful parenting…

Distraction may stop the behavior in the moment, but it ultimately creates more work and long term issues.

Kids (and adults) deserve honesty and authenticity. Children are very capable human beings who won’t respond to manipulation, bribing or distraction tactics to get our way.

📍When we’re honest, firm and clear, then there’s no room for confusion on the child’s part. Kids require a steady, gentle but firm and consistent leader.

📍When we stop distracting them away from a disagreement with their siblings, we’re providing key learning opportunities and trust to practice conflict resolution skills, instead of teaching them to run to adult to solve the issue for them.

📍When we stop distracting our kids away from feeling sadness, anger, hurt etc, we’re showing them how to navigate a range of emotions, and that their emotions don’t have to control them.

📍When we stop distracting their minds and switching gears quickly to keep their attention, we’re no longer sending the message “just move on” and that presence and awareness are essential in all aspects of life.

Using distraction in the moment is effective and easy to do, which is why its so critical to be mindful of how we’re responding to our children when we’re tapped out!

01/20/2022

How do you know your experiencing mom burnout?

A lot of times when we think about mom burnout, we associate it only with postpartum and the newborn stage, but burnout can happen at any stage (personally, I’ve actually felt burnout more now than I ever did during the newborn stage).

We need to normalize talking about maternal mental health.

We can absolutely LOVE our role as a mom or caregiver and still complain about it and need time to ourselves.

The trouble is that most times we feel guilt as a result of feeling this and we have trouble holding both of these truths.

The way we normalize these struggles is by having conversations about it…

Check in with your mom friends about how they are doing. Share your own experiences with feeling burnout or ways you noticed whoa- I can’t do it all! Connecting with others is sometimes just enough support to help us through 🤎

Would love to hear more about your experiences with this. Drop a comment below 👇🏼

01/10/2022

Here are some Mindful Parenting tips to practice during your postpartum season, as you are adjusting and getting to know your baby.

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are very common, and while most parents experience mild mood changes after the birth of a child, 15-20% of women experience more significant symptoms of depression or anxiety.
( )

Practicing these tools can be extremely helpful in difficult moments if you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted or anxious. And while this doesn’t mean that you never get overwhelmed or angry, it does mean that instead of acting mindlessly on your emotions, you bring awareness and self compassion to them.

As always, remember to reach out to your care provider if you or a family member appears to be experiencing more significant or worsening symptoms.

It can be difficult to recognize, but receiving extra support is never a sign a weakness 💖

01/10/2022

Here are some Mindful Parenting tips to practice during your postpartum season as you are adjusting and getting to know your baby.

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are very common, and while most parents experience mild mood changes after the birth of a child, 15-20% of women experience more significant symptoms of depression or anxiety().

Practicing these tools can be extremely helpful in difficult moments if you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted or anxious.

And while this doesn’t mean that you never get overwhelmed or angry, it does mean than acting mindlessly on your emotions, you bring awareness and compassion to them.

As always, remember to reach out to your care provider if you or a family member appears to be experiencing more significant or worsening symptoms.

It can be difficult to recognize, but receiving extra support is never a sign a weakness 💖

01/04/2022

✨Reframing Thoughts and Mindful Parenting ✨

It’s so easy to get caught up in our child’s behaviors without taking a moment to check our ourselves and understand where their behavior might be coming from. This can be especially challenging if we are running on empty or stressed out.

Practicing mindfulness in parenting means that we bring awareness to the moment and to our own feelings, rather than getting hijacked by them and responding to our kids in ways we don’t like.

As we’re bringing more awareness to our own feelings, we then have more space and time to reframe those initial thoughts and responses.

Having more perspective and viewing our child differently can shift the entire mood or trajectory of the day, as well as restoring the foundational relationship and connection.

Here are couple reframes which might be helpful to you in this moment!

01/02/2022

Sharing some of my reflections over my first year as a mom.

What is a lesson you’ve learned in motherhood?

Share if any of these resonated with you!

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2022 ✨

12/29/2021

A couple reminders for moms in the new year

✨ Say goodbye to the mom guilt. A tiny dose of guilt can be productive but too much of it, is pervasive and paralyzing.

✨ Ask for help and support when you need some. It’s not a sign of weakness to know when you are at your capacity and you need to refill your cup.

✨ Stop “should-ing” all over yourself! I should statements are forms of judgment that create pressure and guilt about where you think you “should” be rather than who you are and where you are right now.

Examples;

“I should be more on top of things”
“I should have done that better”
“I should be doing more of X”

✨ Reduce perfectionist thinking and people pleasing tendencies. Women are more susceptible to these inclinations based on being socialized in many cultures to be caretakers and to put others needs ahead of our own.
Other peoples perceptions don’t define you!

✨ Overthinking and negative thoughts. Today’s parents are quite possibly the most informed generation we’ve ever seen- this is great news and it also can be a burden. Learn to lean in and trust yourself.

Happy almost New Years!

12/27/2021

This is one of my favorite quotes. It’s a beautiful reminder for all interpersonal relationships but an especially good one in parenting.

Communication and self control are essential in parenting, and communicating effectively in ALL relationships can be quite difficult.

Communication is laced into everything we do- from work to friendships, partnerships to checking out at target, to social media to body language and our facial expressions - it’s everywhere and it can have lasting impacts.

There’s POWER in our words and how we speak to our children- what we decide to do with our words, how we don’t use them, or using them without thinking…

Being able to navigate our own emotions, reactions and responses should come first before helping our children navigate theirs.

What are some of the barriers in communicating effectively to your kids?

12/13/2021

Who needs to hear this?! 👋🏼🎄

The holidays are a wonderful time to spend time with family & friends and to enjoy the season, however, its important to say that stress and anxiety are also a part of it too.

It can be extra hard to manage everything around this busy season or say no to things when we really need to unwind, so here are some gentle reminders when the stress or overwhelm hit in the moment.

🗣Take a deep breath

Notice when your body is communicating to you that you’re overwhelmed, stressed or worried. Take a deep breath and ground yourself back to steady breathing.

💫Manage our expectations

Often times our expectations of how things should be or how things look get in the way of really enjoying the present moment.

👌🏼Its okay if everything isn’t perfect

It’s okay if you forgot to wrap that gift, didn’t get to see that person or you didn’t buy your kid that special gift! Sometimes we can’t do it all or expect ourselves to be able to.

What are some tips that help you stay grounded during the holidays?

12/09/2021

The quote from this week’s post about quality time and how we show our children they are valued had me think about our time as parents, and how I’m spending my time with Alden.

And lets face it- life is busy and distracting. Finding the right balance between parenting, work responsibilities, our partnership, social connections and our own needs/identity can be difficult- not to mention the worry and mom guilt if we are or aren’t spending enough time with our kids.

Whether you’re a working parent, part-time, or a SAHM, creating intentional time with our children is important AND it’s also challenging.

So, with time being such a high commodity and feeling like there’s never enough of it, how do we carve out quality time with our kiddos?

🕰 Take 10-15 minutes of undistracted time everyday to connect (how this time is spent depends entirely on your child’s age- so this could be through play, reading a story, discussing a topic, etc.)
👩‍👦Create a special ritual for you and your child
🍽 Make meals together and sit down to eat whenever possible
📱 Turn off technology and put your phone away!

Meaningful connections are about quality and not necessarily about the quantity.

So leave the mom guilt to the side and get connected!

Post Modern Parent

02/18/2022

02/09/2022

02/01/2022

01/20/2022

01/10/2022

01/10/2022

01/04/2022

01/02/2022

12/29/2021

12/27/2021

12/13/2021

12/09/2021

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Category