Latest / Dr Justin Coulson's Happy Families / #12: 5 Ways to Know Your Relationship is in Trouble
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Hello and welcome. This is episode twelve of The Happy
- 0:09Speaker 1: Family's podcast. My name is doctor Justin Colson, and this
- 0:12Speaker 1: is the podcast that's dedicated to making your family happier.
- 0:17Speaker 1: I speak to people pretty much every day who are
- 0:19Speaker 1: struggling with their family relationships. There's parents who are just
- 0:23Speaker 1: so tired of their children's challenging behavior. Then there's children
- 0:26Speaker 1: who are well, they're stressed. I think they're trying to
- 0:29Speaker 1: keep up with the sometimes over the top demands of
- 0:33Speaker 1: their parents. Sometimes parents just want their kids to be perfect,
- 0:36Speaker 1: nothing less, nothing more, just perfect that we find, and
- 0:39Speaker 1: sometimes parents just load their kids up with a bit
- 0:42Speaker 1: more than is healthy, and so children struggle, and frankly,
- 0:46Speaker 1: a lot of the families that I deal with are
- 0:48Speaker 1: in genuine, real trouble. So today we're going to talk
- 0:51Speaker 1: about five ways that we can know that a family relationship,
- 0:56Speaker 1: or any relationship for that matter, is in trouble. That's
- 0:58Speaker 1: coming up real soon. Plus how do we cope with
- 1:01Speaker 1: angry children. I'm going to share some ideas about that
- 1:04Speaker 1: with you in three minute therapy, and in the final
- 1:08Speaker 1: segment of the podcast, I'm going to start sharing this
- 1:10Speaker 1: stuff that's really exciting me in my personal learning journey.
- 1:15Speaker 1: You know, there's an old saying that leaders are readers,
- 1:18Speaker 1: and I want to share with you the stuff that
- 1:20Speaker 1: I'm learning about because when I'm learning something new, it
- 1:23Speaker 1: helps me to be better and it inspires me. And
- 1:25Speaker 1: hopefully in your leadership roles, in your family, and for
- 1:28Speaker 1: some of you, perhaps in your workplace, some of the
- 1:31Speaker 1: things that I share will hopefully be helpful. So today
- 1:34Speaker 1: I'll be sharing some ideas about what life is really
- 1:37Speaker 1: all about. So that's all coming up. But next, five
- 1:41Speaker 1: ways to know that your relationship is in trouble and
- 1:45Speaker 1: what you can do about it.
- 1:46Speaker 2: Your conference starts in five minutes. People are inside taking
- 1:49Speaker 2: their chairs. I wonder what's going to happen next. Perhaps
- 1:53Speaker 2: you're worried about the guest speakers. What will they say?
- 1:56Speaker 2: Will it be appropriate, relevant and up to date? Will
- 1:59Speaker 2: it be evident based? Is it going to be stimulating?
- 2:02Speaker 2: You want people to come to you at the end
- 2:04Speaker 2: of the day and say, wow, thanks for organizing today.
- 2:08Speaker 2: I took so much away from the conference. Doctor Justin
- 2:11Speaker 2: Coulson can help. He speaks to school kids, teachers, parents
- 2:15Speaker 2: and professionals about families and happiness because we all want
- 2:19Speaker 2: happier families, happier classrooms, and happier workplaces. So what's your
- 2:24Speaker 2: next conference about? To learn more about getting a speaker
- 2:27Speaker 2: who will help your audience learn, laugh, and leave with
- 2:31Speaker 2: practical tools that will empower them to be happier, more productive,
- 2:35Speaker 2: and better parents, teachers, people, And if you'd like the
- 2:39Speaker 2: credit for having chosen that speaker, visit happy families dot
- 2:42Speaker 2: com dot au for more information about booking doctor Justin
- 2:46Speaker 2: Coulson as a speaker at your next conference.
- 2:48Speaker 1: Well, my parent wakes up in the morning asking what
- 2:51Speaker 1: can I do today to make my child's life hell?
- 2:54Speaker 1: I mean, some days we wonder whether and our children
- 2:56Speaker 1: have woken up asking themselves how they can make our
- 2:59Speaker 1: life hell. But we don't want to make life horrible.
- 3:03Speaker 1: We want our families to be happy. Sometimes though, we
- 3:06Speaker 1: do wonder do my children exist for any reason other
- 3:10Speaker 1: than to make my life uncomfortable? In my first book,
- 3:13Speaker 1: What Your Child Needs from You, and also in my
- 3:16Speaker 1: latest book, twenty one Days to a Happier Family, I
- 3:18Speaker 1: describe how parenting and family life, if we let it,
- 3:23Speaker 1: can become the greatest character education process that we'll ever experience.
- 3:28Speaker 1: And it all comes down to one really simple question.
- 3:31Speaker 1: Am I seeing my child as a person? Or am
- 3:34Speaker 1: I seeing my child as a problem? So here are
- 3:37Speaker 1: five signs that we've stopped seeing our children as people
- 3:39Speaker 1: and started seeing them as problems. The first one is
- 3:43Speaker 1: that we become endlessly critical. Maybe you find yourself being
- 3:46Speaker 1: constantly annoyed with your child. You're always into them about something,
- 3:49Speaker 1: or maybe if they're a teenager, you're always into them
- 3:51Speaker 1: about everything. Maybe you say things like I'm sick and
- 3:55Speaker 1: tired of telling you this, or why don't you ever
- 3:58Speaker 1: do what I say? Spending our time concentrating on all
- 4:02Speaker 1: of the stuff that our children are not doing builds resentment,
- 4:06Speaker 1: and it reduces our children to being things objects in
- 4:11Speaker 1: our eyes, rather than people. Being endlessly critical. The second
- 4:16Speaker 1: sign that our relationships could be in trouble is that
- 4:18Speaker 1: we become contemptuous from time to time. I hate even
- 4:23Speaker 1: saying it. I cringe just saying it. But every now
- 4:26Speaker 1: and again we'll hear a parent say something like listen here,
- 4:30Speaker 1: you selfish little brat, or maybe they'll frustratingly look at
- 4:34Speaker 1: the job and you're driving me insane, or get over
- 4:38Speaker 1: here now, you ungrateful little piece of filthful, you know
- 4:43Speaker 1: they call their kids stupid idiots and that kind of thing.
- 4:45Speaker 1: When we treat someone with contempt, what that means is
- 4:49Speaker 1: that we're treating them as though they're beneath us, they're
- 4:51Speaker 1: not worthy of our consideration or our kindness. And when
- 4:54Speaker 1: we treat our children with contempt, it's a sign that
- 4:57Speaker 1: we're not seeing them as people. We're seeing them as
- 5:00Speaker 1: something below us, and we despise them. This kind of
- 5:04Speaker 1: language and attitude obviously suggests that our relationships are unhealthy
- 5:09Speaker 1: and headed for trouble. The third sign that a relationship
- 5:13Speaker 1: could be in strife is that we show a lack
- 5:16Speaker 1: of humility. If we're heavily critical of our children, or
- 5:19Speaker 1: if we're contemptuous towards them, there's a very good chance
- 5:23Speaker 1: that we lack that quality that's so essential for being
- 5:26Speaker 1: a great parent. It's the quality of humility. In a
- 5:30Speaker 1: parenting context, humility means that we're willing to stop and
- 5:34Speaker 1: understand how things are for our child, see the world
- 5:38Speaker 1: through our child's eyes, and maybe even consider it ourselves.
- 5:42Speaker 1: Am I getting the whole picture? Or am I wrong
- 5:45Speaker 1: with something here? If we lack humility, If we lack it,
- 5:49Speaker 1: we stop considering how things are for our kids. It's
- 5:52Speaker 1: all about us and our agenda. And when we lack
- 5:55Speaker 1: humility in a relationship, it's a sign that we've forgotten
- 5:57Speaker 1: that the other person is a person about us. The
- 6:00Speaker 1: world revolves around me. Stop being such a nuisance and
- 6:03Speaker 1: thinking it revolves around you, And of course our relationship
- 6:06Speaker 1: will invariably suffer if that's our dominant attitude. Okay, the
- 6:10Speaker 1: fourth way to know that our relationship could be in
- 6:12Speaker 1: trouble is this we make our love conditional. Now, I
- 6:17Speaker 1: don't believe that there are too many parents who are
- 6:18Speaker 1: out there who would say I'll only love you if
- 6:21Speaker 1: you do what I ask. But while very few parents
- 6:25Speaker 1: might say that explicitly, a lot of parents offer contingent
- 6:30Speaker 1: positive regard unknowingly. What that means is I'll only love
- 6:34Speaker 1: you if you do this or do that. I've actually
- 6:36Speaker 1: heard some parents say I won't love you anymore if
- 6:39Speaker 1: you keep doing that. Now, maybe they were just joking,
- 6:42Speaker 1: but it sounds and feels awful. Relationships that make positive
- 6:46Speaker 1: regard kindness love contingent on behavior tend to be less
- 6:52Speaker 1: healthy than unconditional relationships. Okay, here's the last tip. The
- 6:58Speaker 1: last way that we make our relationships unhealthy at last,
- 7:03Speaker 1: sign that are relationships in trouble, we shut our children out.
- 7:08Speaker 1: Some parents just do that. One mom taught her newborn
- 7:12Speaker 1: this is a true story. I can't believe it. She
- 7:14Speaker 1: taught her newborn that she should sleep all night. And
- 7:17Speaker 1: the way she taught her that was by not going
- 7:19Speaker 1: to her when she cried in the night from day one.
- 7:23Speaker 1: Many parents that I know send their kids to the
- 7:25Speaker 1: naughty chair when they behave in challenging ways. Often parents
- 7:28Speaker 1: of teens simply stop talking to them because they're so
- 7:31Speaker 1: hard to get along with. In fact, one father that
- 7:34Speaker 1: I recently spoke with told me, I've washed my hands
- 7:37Speaker 1: of my fourteen year old daughter. I'm sick of her.
- 7:39Speaker 1: She's too hard to deal with. I'm just having nothing
- 7:42Speaker 1: to do with her from now on, and he meant it.
- 7:44Speaker 1: Such an approach to our relationships with our children suggests
- 7:49Speaker 1: that we don't have the maturity to manage these relationships effectively,
- 7:54Speaker 1: and our relationships with them are undoubtedly in trouble. And
- 7:58Speaker 1: you know what, our kids deserve so much better than this.
- 8:00Speaker 1: They need us to be so much better. So when
- 8:05Speaker 1: we see our children as problems or hassles or inconveniences,
- 8:08Speaker 1: we stop seeing them as people, We start seeing them
- 8:10Speaker 1: as a pain, as an object, and we forget that
- 8:12Speaker 1: they're real people with real feelings and real hopes and
- 8:15Speaker 1: real desires. So what can we do instead, Well, it's
- 8:19Speaker 1: actually pretty simple. First, rather than being critical, ask questions.
- 8:24Speaker 1: We might say, I saw that you didn't clean your
- 8:27Speaker 1: room when I asked you to What happened? Do you
- 8:29Speaker 1: need help? Second, don't name call ever, just never, ever, ever,
- 8:35Speaker 1: ever name call unless it's a wonderful name, like hello,
- 8:39Speaker 1: my wonderful child who I love with all my heart.
- 8:42Speaker 1: To see the world through their eyes, try and remember
- 8:44Speaker 1: what it's like to be a child or a struggling teenager.
- 8:48Speaker 1: That's where humility comes from. Ask yourself, could I be
- 8:51Speaker 1: wrong about my child? And finally, just love them no
- 8:56Speaker 1: matter what? Rather than shutting them out when things go
- 8:58Speaker 1: wrong or challenge us, invite them closer, particularly at the
- 9:02Speaker 1: tough times. These are the things that make relationships with
- 9:06Speaker 1: our children stronger and healthier, and they make families happier.
- 9:10Speaker 1: So I'd love to hear from you. Tell me about
- 9:12Speaker 1: what you've noticed as a sign that a relationship with
- 9:16Speaker 1: your child could be in trouble. Leave your answer at
- 9:19Speaker 1: happy families dot com dot I use slash podcast slash
- 9:22Speaker 1: twelve like the number twelve? When do you know that
- 9:24Speaker 1: your relationships are in trouble and what do you do
- 9:27Speaker 1: to make it better? Happy families dot com dot I
- 9:30Speaker 1: use slash podcast slash twelve Up next three minute therapy.
- 9:36Speaker 1: How do we deal with angry children?
- 9:39Speaker 2: When it comes to toilet training, things can get a
- 9:42Speaker 2: little stuck. Doctor Justin Coulson has written a no Mess,
- 9:46Speaker 2: no Fuss ebook to help. Written for busy parents. You'll
- 9:50Speaker 2: whizz through how to toilet train your child without getting
- 9:53Speaker 2: bogged in too much detail. You'll find straight shooting answers
- 9:57Speaker 2: about toilet training based on scientific research, like how to
- 10:00Speaker 2: know when your child is ready to toilet train and
- 10:03Speaker 2: the most popular toilet training approaches and what science says
- 10:07Speaker 2: about them. This is the fast flowing, easy to digest
- 10:10Speaker 2: ebook to get your kids going at the right time,
- 10:13Speaker 2: in the right place and the right way. Toilet training
- 10:17Speaker 2: easy as one two We available at Happy families dot
- 10:21Speaker 2: com dot au.
- 10:22Speaker 1: So I've received an email from a mum she's an
- 10:25Speaker 1: RN a registered nurse, about her eleven year old daughter
- 10:28Speaker 1: who is struggling to control her anger. There's no issues
- 10:31Speaker 1: at school, but at home, whoa have? We got some
- 10:35Speaker 1: hard work to do there. So here's my response. First
- 10:38Speaker 1: of all, when we have angry children, we need to
- 10:40Speaker 1: remember this anger is a habit. In fact, I spoke
- 10:45Speaker 1: with one child recently, a fifteen year old girl who
- 10:49Speaker 1: has a big anger issue, and she said, when I
- 10:52Speaker 1: get angry, I get what I want. She's learned that
- 10:56Speaker 1: when she gets mad, she gets the results she wants,
- 10:58Speaker 1: so she just does it more and it's become her
- 11:01Speaker 1: go to response to any challenging situation. I think that's
- 11:05Speaker 1: what might be happening with this eleven year old girl
- 11:08Speaker 1: in this particular request for help. And more often than not,
- 11:12Speaker 1: the person who has the highest energy in an interaction
- 11:16Speaker 1: wins whatever they're contesting. You've got the highest energy, you win.
- 11:19Speaker 1: So if I'm eleven and I don't want to do
- 11:21Speaker 1: the dishes, I just get angry and next thing you know,
- 11:24Speaker 1: there's this big conflict that breaks out that I win
- 11:26Speaker 1: because I keep getting angrier and I get out of
- 11:28Speaker 1: the dishes. Even if I get sent to my room,
- 11:30Speaker 1: that's fine. That's a win because I don't have to
- 11:32Speaker 1: do the dishes in my bedroom. Ralph Waldo Emerson, American
- 11:37Speaker 1: eighteen hundred's philosopher, essayist and general smart guy, said quote,
- 11:43Speaker 1: we all boil at different levels, and I think that
- 11:47Speaker 1: for this eleven year old, and maybe for one of
- 11:48Speaker 1: your children, there's a low boiling point relative to what
- 11:52Speaker 1: we might think that it should be, and perhaps that
- 11:55Speaker 1: boiling point only gets reached in certain environments like at home.
- 12:00Speaker 1: Probably whole lot of reasons for this, and they include
- 12:02Speaker 1: things like the genetic inheritance of anger. That's probably a
- 12:06Speaker 1: small component. I think a much bigger and more important
- 12:09Speaker 1: component is what we do as parents. What's she's seen, mum, dad, friends, uncles, arties,
- 12:15Speaker 1: nana's pops, what do they do, and the way that
- 12:18Speaker 1: she's been responded to as well for previous outbursts. Have
- 12:20Speaker 1: you ever noticed that when our children get angry and upset,
- 12:23Speaker 1: we often look at them and say, would you calm
- 12:25Speaker 1: down right now? Stop being so angry, And we do
- 12:28Speaker 1: exactly what we've told them not to do. But also
- 12:31Speaker 1: sometimes they might be struggling to control their anger because
- 12:34Speaker 1: they're hungry or tired or stressed. So unfortunately, even if
- 12:38Speaker 1: we're not aware of it, we usually fight fire with
- 12:41Speaker 1: fire and that's unhelpful and unhealthy. We turn into puffer
- 12:44Speaker 1: fish parenting puffer fish parents, i should say, and we
- 12:46Speaker 1: blow ourselves up as big as we can to eliminate
- 12:49Speaker 1: the threat that our child has become. This is not
- 12:52Speaker 1: going to be helpful. It's only going to make more
- 12:54Speaker 1: conflict in the home, and it's going to make our
- 12:56Speaker 1: children feel more justified in being angry and hating everyone.
- 13:01Speaker 1: So we need better solutions. Here's a couple of suggestions
- 13:05Speaker 1: to help this mom and to help you if you're
- 13:07Speaker 1: dealing with angry kids. Number one, talk about it, but
- 13:11Speaker 1: remember timing is everything. Don't try and discuss your child's
- 13:14Speaker 1: outbursts in the middle of an outburst. That's not going
- 13:17Speaker 1: to get you a good result. If your child flares
- 13:19Speaker 1: up and you say, see this is what I'm talking about,
- 13:22Speaker 1: you're doing the angry thing right now. They're not going
- 13:24Speaker 1: to look at it and smile and say, ah, good point,
- 13:26Speaker 1: thanks for helping me with that. We should talk this through.
- 13:30Speaker 1: What they what they're going to do is get madder,
- 13:32Speaker 1: and you're going to be accused of not understanding or
- 13:35Speaker 1: judging or being so unfair. So instead, wait until things
- 13:38Speaker 1: have been calm for a while, go for a walk together,
- 13:40Speaker 1: have a chat, and maybe say something like, hey, you
- 13:43Speaker 1: know that outburst before, what was that about? How can
- 13:46Speaker 1: we do something so this stuff doesn't keep happening. How
- 13:49Speaker 1: does it make everyone feel okay? The next thing to
- 13:51Speaker 1: do is to understand. We want to know where this
- 13:54Speaker 1: is coming from. Our children behave in crazy ways because
- 13:57Speaker 1: they have unmet needs. It's pretty much that simple. If
- 14:00Speaker 1: a child is being angry out of all proportion, if
- 14:03Speaker 1: they're hurting others, we might want to set them straight,
- 14:06Speaker 1: but it just doesn't work. I often hear some parenting
- 14:10Speaker 1: experts say things like parents, you've just got to get
- 14:12Speaker 1: a spine, You've got to take back authority. Well, you do,
- 14:16Speaker 1: but not in a way that creates power struggles and
- 14:19Speaker 1: more contempt and critical speaking and horribleness. What we need
- 14:25Speaker 1: to do instead is we need to have an understanding approach.
- 14:29Speaker 1: A nurturing understanding approach allows our children to feel like
- 14:32Speaker 1: we get it. We can stop the emotional flood of anger,
- 14:35Speaker 1: and rather than telling them to calm down, we can
- 14:37Speaker 1: just understand. Say hey, you know, I can see that
- 14:41Speaker 1: it's an opportunity for us to be close. Where's this
- 14:44Speaker 1: coming from? You're hungry, angry, lonely, tired, stressed, or sick,
- 14:48Speaker 1: is a problem somewhere in your life. And then we
- 14:51Speaker 1: give that emotion a name. We actually say, I see
- 14:53Speaker 1: you're feeling like this. It's amazing. How if it can
- 14:56Speaker 1: be named, it can be tamed. So find words to
- 14:59Speaker 1: describe how they're feeling, and just show that you understand.
- 15:02Speaker 1: The third tip is to teach you how to start conversations.
- 15:05Speaker 1: You know, sometimes children just don't know what to say
- 15:07Speaker 1: or how to say it, and they're so emotional that
- 15:09Speaker 1: they just start blubbering and screaming and going crazy. So
- 15:12Speaker 1: teach your kids to start softly and model that behavior yourself.
- 15:16Speaker 1: Research clearly shows that soft startups lead to much more
- 15:19Speaker 1: effective outcomes in conversations than harsh startups. One or two
- 15:25Speaker 1: more quick ideas. You might want to let her know
- 15:26Speaker 1: it's okay.
- 15:27Speaker 2: Leave.
- 15:28Speaker 1: There's a difference between storming out of a room in
- 15:30Speaker 1: anger and leaving a room because you're not coping and
- 15:35Speaker 1: going somewhere to cool off. One of them is about
- 15:37Speaker 1: either punishing everyone and being just crazy angry, and the
- 15:40Speaker 1: other one's about regulating yourself, and that's a much healthier approach.
- 15:45Speaker 1: Let your child know that it is actually okay to
- 15:47Speaker 1: regulate behavior. You might teach you that her angry thoughts
- 15:51Speaker 1: are kind of like leaves floating down a river. And
- 15:54Speaker 1: if she closes her eyes and pictures herself sitting on
- 15:56Speaker 1: a beautiful, peaceful riverbank under a gorgeous willow tree, and
- 15:59Speaker 1: what those leaves float down the river? They can just
- 16:02Speaker 1: float down the river and around the band, out of sight,
- 16:05Speaker 1: and she can let them go. And the last point
- 16:08Speaker 1: that I make is this can't means don't want to.
- 16:10Speaker 1: I was raised by a mum who responded to every
- 16:13Speaker 1: one of my whining I can't do it, mum statements
- 16:16Speaker 1: with can't means don't want to. Now, this is a
- 16:19Speaker 1: little bit of tough love, and it may not have
- 16:21Speaker 1: specific science behind it, but what it does is it
- 16:24Speaker 1: lets your child know that she can control her anger
- 16:27Speaker 1: if she wants to. So when you say it's time
- 16:30Speaker 1: to calm down now and she says I can't, you
- 16:31Speaker 1: can say what car't means don't want to? And if
- 16:34Speaker 1: you stay calm and responsive and understanding, you'll get much
- 16:39Speaker 1: better outcomes with your child. Now, there's a whole lot
- 16:41Speaker 1: of other anger management strategies that we could talk about,
- 16:43Speaker 1: but that's more than three minutes of three minute therapy,
- 16:45Speaker 1: and we do need to wrap this session up. But
- 16:48Speaker 1: I've shared these because they're practical and they're helpful in
- 16:51Speaker 1: their research based If you can model non aggressive, nonviolent,
- 16:56Speaker 1: non angry interactions with your child, and you'll usually have
- 17:01Speaker 1: better outcomes. If things get worse, check in with a
- 17:03Speaker 1: local psychologist for some specific guidance. So that's my response
- 17:08Speaker 1: for this week. If you do have any questions, you
- 17:10Speaker 1: can ask me a question at happy families dot com
- 17:12Speaker 1: dot I use slash questions. Just send me an email
- 17:15Speaker 1: or the information that you need is at happy families
- 17:18Speaker 1: dot com dot I use slash questions. And I'm curious
- 17:22Speaker 1: about how else you deal with angry kids. If you
- 17:25Speaker 1: can keep your answers focused on being respectful to your children, please,
- 17:29Speaker 1: that would be great. Shea your ideas because I can't
- 17:31Speaker 1: give you all of the answers, so visit happy families
- 17:34Speaker 1: dot com dot I use slash podcast slash twelve like
- 17:37Speaker 1: the number twelve, and tell me how would you deal
- 17:40Speaker 1: with an always angry eleven year old in ways that
- 17:43Speaker 1: help and that are respectful. Happy families dot com dot
- 17:47Speaker 1: I use Slash podcast Slash twelve, and I'll be back
- 17:49Speaker 1: in a second with a glimpse into what I've learned
- 17:52Speaker 1: this week to help me to be a better parent
- 17:55Speaker 1: and a better person.
- 17:56Speaker 2: Are you pulling your hair out because your child won't listen?
- 18:00Speaker 2: Find yourself shouting at the children because you just don't
- 18:03Speaker 2: know what else to do. Is your child back chatting
- 18:05Speaker 2: or disrespectful? Are you finding parenting more challenging than you
- 18:09Speaker 2: ever thought possible? Doctor Justin Coulson provides one on one
- 18:13Speaker 2: parenting coaching via Skype or phone no matter where you are.
- 18:17Speaker 2: Receive personalized individual guidance specifically for your family's circumstances, find
- 18:22Speaker 2: solutions to the parenting problems that are driving you crazy,
- 18:26Speaker 2: and make your family happier Today. For more details and
- 18:30Speaker 2: a coaching package that will suit you, visit happy families
- 18:33Speaker 2: dot com dot au forward Slash Coaching. Well.
- 18:36Speaker 1: This week, I've been thinking a lot about research that's
- 18:39Speaker 1: related to our well being as parents, and some surprising
- 18:43Speaker 1: findings that suggest that the happiest parents are actually the
- 18:46Speaker 1: ones who are willing to give all they can to
- 18:49Speaker 1: their families. I posted this on Facebook and had a
- 18:52Speaker 1: really big response. I said this, I know we all
- 18:55Speaker 1: feel like servants or slaves to our children sometimes, but
- 18:58Speaker 1: it seems to me that the most effective parents and
- 19:00Speaker 1: spouses are servants. First. They put their children or their
- 19:04Speaker 1: partner before themselves. They're not too important to do the
- 19:08Speaker 1: unpopular jobs. The children and their spouse know that they
- 19:12Speaker 1: can trust them for help. They make their family members
- 19:14Speaker 1: better and stronger, and they do it with an attitude
- 19:17Speaker 1: of willingness rather than an attitude of begrudging martyrdom. So
- 19:22Speaker 1: that's what's been on my mind, and I think that
- 19:24Speaker 1: it can help us to be better parents and better people.
- 19:27Speaker 1: Can you imagine what would happen if we approached all
- 19:29Speaker 1: of our relationships like that? If we give what we
- 19:33Speaker 1: give willingly, with no expectation of anyone giving anything back,
- 19:37Speaker 1: and then if we get nothing back, it doesn't matter
- 19:39Speaker 1: because we gave it willingly, and if we do well,
- 19:41Speaker 1: that's a bonus. And it certainly pans out that way
- 19:43Speaker 1: in the research. What do you think? Love to know
- 19:45Speaker 1: your thoughts, Let me know what Happy families dot com
- 19:47Speaker 1: dot I use slash podcast Slash twelve. Okay, that's pretty
- 19:52Speaker 1: much all we've got time for this week. A quick
- 19:54Speaker 1: reminder my brand new book twenty one Days for a
- 19:56Speaker 1: Happier Family is selling like hotcakes. Actually it's going bananas.
- 20:01Speaker 1: You can get it online, you can get it in bookstores,
- 20:03Speaker 1: you can get it at my website, Happy families dot
- 20:05Speaker 1: com dot you as well as the twenty one Days
- 20:07Speaker 1: to a Happy Families program, which I'm going to tell
- 20:09Speaker 1: you about in the next podcast in a fortnight's time.
- 20:13Speaker 1: In the meantime, though, visit the website and thank you
- 20:16Speaker 1: for listening to the podcast. I really hope your family
- 20:19Speaker 1: is happier because of it and that it's helping you
- 20:21Speaker 1: to grow as a person. If you have any questions
- 20:24Speaker 1: that you'd like to get answered, you can visit me
- 20:26Speaker 1: at Happy Families dot com dot I use slash questions.
- 20:29Speaker 1: I'll do my best to answer you in an upcoming podcast.
- 20:32Speaker 1: And if you've enjoyed the episode, please jump online and
- 20:35Speaker 1: have a look at the show notes at happyfamilies dot
- 20:38Speaker 1: com dot. I use slash podcast slash twelve. You can
- 20:42Speaker 1: share it via Twitter and Facebook, and I'd be absolutely
- 20:45Speaker 1: thrilled if you would rate the podcast on iTunes because
- 20:48Speaker 1: it's those ratings that determine how likely it is that
- 20:51Speaker 1: people are going to discover the podcast. And because I
- 20:53Speaker 1: want it to be the best parenting podcast in the world,
- 20:56Speaker 1: I really need your ratings, so please please rate the podcast.
- 20:59Speaker 1: The ratings will increase the visibility of the podcast and
- 21:01Speaker 1: help other people to find it so that they can
- 21:04Speaker 1: have happier families as well. And of course, subscribe while
- 21:06Speaker 1: you're there on iTunes to the Happy Families podcast. So
- 21:10Speaker 1: that's it for this week. I'll have another one ready
- 21:12Speaker 1: to go for you in about a fortnight's time. Every
- 21:15Speaker 1: two weeks they come out. This one will be about
- 21:17Speaker 1: how to make playing with your children fun because there's
- 21:21Speaker 1: more some people don't like doing it until then. Remember
- 21:24Speaker 1: you don't have to be the best parent in the world.
- 21:26Speaker 1: You just have to be the best parent in your
- 21:29Speaker 1: children's work.