341: Three Keys to Success for parenting in the age of the pandemic

SENSITIVE EARS ALERT… Part way through this episode I share about a traumatic event that happened to me in my childhood. I ask that you put on headphones, or listen away from sensitive ears. Thank you!

Today I share three keys to success, when parenting in a pandemic or any crisis.
They are not difficult keys. Because if they were, we wouldn't be able to do them as consistently as they need doing…
Instead, the first key is relaxing, the second key is enjoyable, and the the third key takes something negative and frames it to be positive.

Also: the day before I recorded this episode I had a total brainwave.
I connected up my superpower – helping people feel seen and cared for – to the reason I have this gift, and have had ever since I can remember.

It's not a pretty reason.

When I was seven years old I was sexually abused, in my own home, with my mom right upstairs. (She was completely unaware, and I would be a senior in college before she discovered the extent of the trauma. In my first book, Positive Discipline Ninja Tactics, I share about what my folks did that was helpful, even though they had no idea what had happened to me.)
After the incident, my whole personality changed. I felt lost, anxious every time we drove out of my ken in the car, and convinced that if I lost sight of my family, they had deserted me.

The day before recording this episode I had the following brainwave:
My superpower comes from the fact that no one gave me the care that I needed, no one came to my rescue on that day. No one had found me when I was lost.

So, I had to learn to do that for myself.
I had to take care of little Karen, because no one else was there to do that.
And it's left me with a unique ability, that I've been practicing ever since: to make people feel seen, and cared for.

It's become the defining value of my life.

So if you're feeling lost, or as if no one cares about you, let me be that person for you.
As a child development expert, I've never yet met a parent who didn't have some concerns for their children.
If you're feeling like everything is impossible right now – lockdown, mask etiquette, school-at-at home, chaos in one corner and fire in another – I can help.

I've got two ways:

First, I am creating a publication called the We Turned Out Okay Playbook.
It is going to be so helpful for you, as you navigate the craziness and help your family through it all.
I wrote it to help you LIVE in challenging times, so you and your family can come through them and thrive.
Check it out – and download the August 2020 PDF completely free – by going to:
weturnedoutokay.com/playbook

Second, I'm opening up some time in my schedule to talk. For conversations.
Conversation that helps you feel seen, and heard, and cared for.
Conversation that helps you handle parenting, in the age of coronavirus.

If you want to think possibilities instead of fears…
If you want the help of someone who knows her child-development stuff, who helps her clients get real success…
If you want to have a conversation that's so helpful that you will literally remember it for the rest of your life… Email me!

(I share my email address towards the end of this episode. I won't write it down for bot-fraud-prevention purposes, but suffice it to say that my email address is my name, combined with the name of this website. Or, you could just listen to this episode, where you'll hear me say it out loud : )

I've worked with people who came into a coaching session with me, believing that something was impossible. They came out of it looking forward to some new possibilities and within a very short amount of time (the story that I share in this episode, it was the same day) wrote to me and said "I thought this was impossible, and we are DOING it!"

What is possible for you?
Let's find out.

Key Links

The inaugural issue of the We Turned Out Okay Playbook is officially out!
Click the link below to view and download your free PDF copy of Issue 1/August 2020:
weturnedoutokay.com/playbook

The wonderful coach, Mariela Ortiz, was kind enough to include me in her virtual summit, Mommy Matters!
Click the link below to join the Free virtual Summit that Mariela is offering, which starts on August 3:
https://bit.ly/2Ztu7pJ

On August 4 (next week if you're listening in real time) Mariela is my guest on We Turned Out Okay!
On that day or after you can click the following link to listen to our conversation:
weturnedoutokay.com/342

I am loving the Parenting in Place Masterclass, and talk about this in here today because the second key to success for parenting in the pandemic is a game that I first heard of in this masterclass. Click the link below to find out more about it:
parentinginplacemasterclass.com

Click the link below for this post in your browser:
weturnedoutokay.com/341

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