If you find yourself being the judge and jury to your kids' little nit picky arguments all day long, then you are in for a treat with this awesome parenting tip!
The Yellow Spoon has got to be one of the most helpful ‘parenting tools’ that I have used over the last year or so.
Let me explain why and how it all started:
In our house we only had one yellow spoon, the rest were silver or green. Each morning the boys would argue over who got to ‘use the yellow spoon’ while eating their breakfast.
Then one day, the arguments stopped. I realised that they themselves had implemented a system whereby each brother takes turns on different days to ‘use the yellow spoon’ – they created their own roster system.
Boom! Just like that the mornings were once again peaceful affairs.
But it didn’t stop there…. We have taken this concept quite a few steps further.
Each month we mark on the calendar which brother has the yellow spoon on which day, alternating between them.
The holder of the yellow spoon gets to:
- Use the yellow spoon throughout the day
- Sit in the middle seat of the car
- Choose the music we listen to
- Choose the TV show we watch
- Hold the remote while watching TV
- Choose our bedtime story
- Choose our meditation story
- And so many more ‘privileges’ throughout the day
This even goes as far as if Mr. 7 has the yellow spoon that day and Mr. 4 asks me to read a particular story in the evening, I remind him that he has to ask whoever has the yellow spoon and if they choose it that’s fine, but if not, Mr. 4 has to wait until his turn with the yellow spoon.
I tell you what, it’s amazing! So many arguments have been avoided by simply referring to who has the yellow spoon that day.
Let me ask you - is this something that you might be able to implement in your family? What could you use instead of a yellow spoon? What kinds of privileges would the holder of the yellow spoon receive?
I would love to know what you think about this parenting hack! Comment below and share your thoughts, or ask me any questions that might have about starting this in your home.
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Hi, I'm Nina, a mindful mum to three loud little boys, and a certified Mindful Parenting Coach.
Four years ago, I was a struggling mama who was feeling run down, exhausted and fed up with this 'mum life'.
I was sick of my kids not listening to me, sick of them fighting, and sick of the all the yelling coming out of my mouth.
I felt guilty every single night. Feeling like I had let myself down, let my kids down. Feeling bad about my ‘poor parenting decisions’. Not knowing how I was ever going to get out of this continual rut of guilt, yelling and negativity.
I realised that something needed to change.
I enrolled in the Mindful Parenting Course and saw changes in both myself and my kids almost immediately.
Life is now easier, quieter and calmer.
I am now more aware of my myself and my triggers. I can actually talk about my emotions.
I am better able to meet the needs of my kids because I have learnt how to better meet my own needs.
I am able to pause before reacting to a difficult situation, and consider it from all angles before reacting.
I have learnt ways to communicate with my kids so they I can better understand where they are coming from, and so that they can better understand me.
I feel more confident in my ability to raise calm, confident, empathetic, kind and compassionate children.
When the opportunity came to learn how to pass on the skills of mindful parenting to other parents, a spark flared inside me and I immediately knew that there is nothing else in this world that would be more perfect for me to pursue!
This program had such a profound impact on my life, and had such positive impacts on me and my family that I just had to share it with other parents.
I am so excited to share this transformational journey with you!
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