The Child Repair Guide with Dr. Steve Silvestro

Moving from Conflict to Cooperation - with Alyson Schafer

Jan 30, 2017

01:03:50

We're in the middle of a revolution in parenting.

It's clear to see that in the last twenty-plus years, parenting styles have radically changed. Gone is the view that children "should be seen and not heard," and in its place is a more kid-centric approach designed--we hope--to help our kids grow up more confident and balanced, and to allow parents to more fully enjoy the experience of raising kids.

But as with any change, there are some growing pains.

As we've moved away from a generally authoritarian approach to parenting, we've blurred some of the long-held lines in the parent-child relationship. "When am I your parent, and when am I your friend? Should I always be the parent and not the friend? How does a friend convince you to eat your dinner?" And with these lines blurred, we've introduced potential for daily conflict--both with our kids and within ourselves.

Alyson Schafer is a pro at teaching parents how to manage these conflicts and even avoid them altogether. She is Canada's leading parenting expert, and her list of accomplishments makes it easy to see why: She's the author of three books, hosted her own parenting TV show for six seasons, has appeared in dozens of online and print media, and has given presentations around the world--including TEDxKids in Brussels.

In this interview, Alyson dives into the conflicts that come up in modern parenting, giving you key tips to deal with and prevent those issues--and raise cooperative, happy kids in the process!

In This Episode, You Will Learn About:

Raising cooperative kids versus simply obedient kids
How to stimulate intrinsic motivation and mutual respect instead of always using external rewards to motivate your child
Kids’ 4 goals when misbehaving
Why we should look at misbehavior as a mistaken approach
How certain types of praise might actually hurt your child’s chances for true success
How to deal with back talk and bad attitudes
Why family meetings are so important—and how to structure them to be successful
And so much more!

"Mistakes are opportunities to learn, not failures and deficiencies." "Any time [kids] can increase their sense of control, their lack of control in other areas becomes more manageable." -- Alyson Schafer

Be sure to SHARE this page & this episode with anyone who needs to find the right balance as they raise their kids in this new era of parenting!

Tag me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and let me know what you think about my conversation with Alyson.

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