The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast

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We all feel it. Christmas is right around the corner. You see it everywhere. The ads, the to-dos, the cleaning, the lists, all the hype.

But what is it that you want to get out of this holiday season? What is it that you want to give to your kids this holiday season?

Today on the show I’m sharing some of my personal parenting philosophy with you. I’m sharing what I want to teach my kids this holiday season, the meaning I want them to get out of it, so that it’s not just another time, another season, another holiday that comes and goes like a flash.

So let’s talk about gratitude, gifts, and giving, shall we? Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares her personal parenting philosophy for this holiday season and what she wants to cultivate for her family;
She explains how you can teach your child to have a heart of gratitude; and
She shares a memory of giving from her own childhood and how she is passing that down to her kids.

SHOW NOTES

What do you want this holiday season? If it’s peace, if it’s clarity, if it’s a happier mama life, I’ve got your back. I’m still offering one-on-one 30-minute coaching calls, so if you need help with potty training, I’ve got you. If you need help with the chaos right before dinner time, I’m here for you. If you need just one next step to have less yelling at home, I’m your person. Pick a date and time and let’s chat. www.lauralynnlapointe.com/workwithme

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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I’m getting a little personal on today’s show as I share with you why I haven’t potty trained my two (almost three) year-old yet.

But the reason why I’m sharing this stuff with you is not to justify myself, but to show you how to not feel guilty about your own potty training decisions, or any parenting decisions for that matter.

Sometimes we need a reminder that we’re the parents of our own kids here, and that when it comes to our kids, we - - YOU - - are the best experts.

Now come into my head and hear about my personal life and the reasons why I haven't started potty training. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the three main reasons for why she hasn’t potty trained her daughter yet;
She explains why she doesn’t feel guilty about not starting potty training yet; and
She walks you through how to not feel guilty when it comes to your own potty training and parenting decisions.

SHOW NOTES

If you are struggling with potty training or in any area related to parenting toddlers, I invite you to schedule a one-on-one consult call with me so that you don’t have to do this parenting thing alone and so that you can get to your solutions fast. www.lauralynnlapointe.com/workwithme.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Reactive parenting.

Maybe most of us couldn’t give it a dictionary-worthy definition, but we all know what it looks like.

What comes to mind is the image of a parent lashing out, yelling at, at waving her fists at her kid following some unwanted behavior the child does, but reactive parenting can be much more subtle than this.

For all of us parents, we likely have some reactive tendencies simply because we’re quick to respond, especially when we’ve got a lot on our mind and are doing a million things at once. So whether your reactive parenting is subtle or not so subtle, I want to talk about the signs of reactive parenting, the signs of proactive parenting, and some reasons for why proactive parenting is going to be the best approach for you and your child.

Remember, I help you make parenting easier. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn reviews the signs of reactive parenting and the reasons for why you want to get out of it;
She explains the signs of proactive parenting and why this is likely the parenting approach you want to adopt; and
She shares why it’s common to have moments of reactive parenting, so no need to feel guilty because of it.

SHOW NOTES

If you’re at your wits end in your parenting and managing the typical toddler behaviors and you just don’t know what to do about it or what to try, sign up for a 30-minute coaching call to get some insight into the problem you’re experiencing and some guidance on what to do next. www.lauralynnlapointe.com/workwithme.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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We all know that parenting can feel hard sometimes. And parenting can BE hard sometimes, including when you realize that you are responding to your children differently.

Maybe you give your younger child - the obedient and quiet child - the benefit of the doubt. Whereas for your child who is loud, fast-moving, and who pushes your boundaries, you’re much more quick to blame.

Today I want to talk about this type of scenario in which you find yourself treating your children differently and what you can begin to do to address this pattern of your own behavior.

Don’t forget my announcement from last week. I’m now offering single one-on-one 30-minute calls! Sign up for a 30-minute call at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/workwithme.

Now let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains how it’s easy to treat our children differently especially if they are at different stages of development;
She shares the one thing you can begin to do now to change how you respond to your children; and
She shares a personal example from her own life in which she created a new story for herself in order to change how she thought and felt about a situation.

SHOW NOTES

Need some quick one-on-one help and guidance? Sign up for a 30-minute coaching call! Pick a date and time and sign-up. It’s that easy. www.lauralynnlapointe.com/workwithme.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Potty training. Data to keep track of throughout your child’s journey. How to make your potty training journey easier over all. That’s what we’ll be talking about in today’s episode.

And, BIG NEWS!

I am now offering one-on-one private 30-minute coaching calls!

That means if you have a question about potty training, about behavior, or about parenting, you can schedule one 30-minute call with me, we’ll chat and you’ll get your questions answered. Super easy. Super convenient. I’m here for when you need me most. Learn more at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/workwithme .

Now let’s talk about tracking those important key pieces of data during potty training. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the four pieces of potty training information that she tracks throughout potty training;
She explains why you’ll want to keep track of these pieces of data, especially if your child struggles throughout the process; and
She shares how tracking your child’s potty training journey can help you know your child’s true progress.

SHOW NOTES

Need some quick one-on-one help and guidance? Sign up for a 30-minute coaching call! Pick a date and time and sign-up. It’s that easy. www.lauralynnlapointe.com/workwithme.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Does your toddler have a lot to say like mine do? It’s like the talking never stops, and it can leave you feeling exhausted.

But what happens when your little one interrupts you…. More often than not?

Today on the show I want to share how this behavior of interrupting happens at my house and what I’m doing to overcome it, to reduce the interrupting, and to teach appropriate waiting.

If your toddler is a talker and an interrupter, this episode is for you.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares why toddlers are prone to interrupt and how it’s a common behavior;
She explains how to respond in the moment when your toddler interrupts you; and
She shares ways you can prevent your children from interrupting before it starts.

SHOW NOTES

It’s time for you to enjoy the seemingly ordinary parts of motherhood. Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you enjoy your role as a parent and see behavior improve. www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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There is no sweeter moment while raising toddlers than the moment you see an oh-so-precious behavior from your four year-old.

For a lot of us, these moments don’t seem to come by often, so when they do, they’re extra special.

Today I want to share with you the positive behavior I’ve been seeing recently in my four year-old son and the reason for why I’m seeing this behavior.

This episode is about creating and cultivating that peaceful, loving, and learning environment in your own home. This is something you can create as well, and you’ll soon find that your four year-old is behaving similarly.

Now let me share with you the positive behavior I’m seeing in my four year-old. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the positive behavior she’s seeing in her four year-old toward his younger sister;
She describes the reason for why her son is displaying this positive behavior; and
She shares how your intentional role of motherhood can produce positive effects on your children.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you create the peaceful, intentional, and loving environment in your own home that both helps you and your child thrive! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Communication.

The smallest changes in how you communicate can make all the difference in the world.

It’s true for marriage, it’s true for your own mindset, it’s true for work and leading a team, and it’s definitely true for parenting.

Today I want to share with you one of the ways you should be communicating with your toddlers to increase those good, appropriate behaviors and to get rid of those typical unwanted behaviors.

The strategy is easy. It’s all about practicing speaking in this way and getting consistent with it.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn describes the easy-to-use strategy to help get your toddlers to do those good, appropriate behaviors;
She shares how the strategy is useful at getting rid of unwanted toddler behaviors; and
She describes how this strategy helps create a learning ground in your home environment.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you thrive in your own motherhood on your terms and feel confident while doing it! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Are you considering switching up or changing the potty training method that you are using with your child?

Maybe you thought your child would get the hang of this whole potty thing right away, but that’s not what it’s looking like, considering that you’re cleaning up pee pee accidents more times in a day than you’d like to count.

A parent recently asked me if she should switch the more hands-off potty training method that she was using with her son to a much more structured method. The conversation was so enlightening that I wanted to share with you all here so that you’re not left second guessing yourself if you should do something different about potty training.

Should you change up your potty training method? Let’s find out. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn describes the reasons for when you should change your potty training method.
She shares some of the typical ways that you can change your method if your child is not making progress; and
She shares when you may NOT want to change your potty training method.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Parenting can feel downright hard.

Dealing with tantrums. A toddler who talks your ear off nonstop. The kid who only wants mommy.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, drained, exhausted, and at your wits end.

And I’m here to remind you that parenting doesn’t have to feel this hard. It can be easier. You can let those tantrums roll off your back. You can respond to that non stop talking toddler simply. You can deal with the child who only needs mommy with ease. We can get you there.

Now the real reason parenting is hard? Let’s find out. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn described what a lot of moms feel in their parenting;
She shares the reasons for why parenting can feel so hard; and
She gives you specific journal prompts to get to the bottom of what feels hard about parenting so you can determine what to do about it.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you thrive in your own motherhood, on your terms! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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If you ever feel like you’re just checking off the boxes of to-dos as a mom, this episode is for you.

This week on the podcast I share with you how I’m connecting more with my kids and why I’m prioritizing that.

Focusing on this connection has not only helped my children, but I’ve seen how it has become very helpful for me as a mom.

I think you will relate with what I share today. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares why she is focusing on connecting more with her kids;
She explains how she practically connects with her children; and
She shares how this connection impacts the future.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you thrive in your own motherhood, on your terms! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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No one likes to do something that they don’t want to do, and that goes for our toddlers as well.

You don’t like to pay bills, schedule another doctor’s appointment, run to the grocery store, or prep dinner, but you do it anyway, without a fuss, without a tantrum…. Well, at least sometimes.

Our toddlers, they’re a different story.

There are a lot of things that they don’t like but they need to do it anyway: going potty, getting dressed, cleaning up toys, heading inside for the night.

And when they don’t like something but need to do it anyway, this is when you’ll likely see that full-blown tantrum. They’re not as good as you at controlling their emotions.

So how can we make this easier on them - and us - when they need to transition to something that they don’t like to do. That’s what we’ll be talking about today, and I’ll be giving you specific strategies that you can use to help ease that transition.

Let's go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares common parenting strategies you can use to help your child complete a task or transition to something that your child doesn’t want to do;
She explains your key response if your child has a tantrum or some other unwanted behavior when needing to complete a task; and
She shares why our kids may have a tantrum when needing to do something they don’t want to do.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you learn to apply parenting strategies that work to many different situations at home with your toddler! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Picture this…

You’re done with daytime potty training, your child is fully pee and poop potty trained for daytime and nap, and now all of a sudden your child isn’t doing a good pee when she sits on the toilet. She sits, goes some, and then runs off.

Maybe she’s rushing to the bathroom a little while later because she has to go. Maybe she suddenly has some pee pee dribbles in her underwear.

And you're thinking, what gives? You had this whole potty training thing down months ago.

If you ask me, “What gives?” is a great question.

Why is your child suddenly doing this, and what can you do about it? That’s what I’ll be answering today.

Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn reviews the potential reasons your child is not fully eliminating when she sits on the potty to go pee;
She shares the questions you should ask yourself to figure out why your child is not fully eliminating to help you determine what to do next; and
She gives you different strategies you can begin trying at home to solve this not fully eliminating problem.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you more fully step into the role of being the expert on your child! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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If you have a two-year-old, three-year-old, or four-year-old, you may have noticed the nasty “no” word coming out of your sweet toddler's mouth maybe a little too often.

It’s not super surprising. Your toddler is growing in independence, being in control is something she’s aiming for, and she’s learning that her behavior - her response - can be used for her good.

So today on the show I want to talk about how we should respond to the ever common “no” that our toddlers throw at us.

Your child saying this may absolutely drive you mad, but it doesn’t have to.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the two common reasons for why a child may say “no” to you;
She explains why it’s important to understand the reason for why your toddler may be telling you “no”; and
She shares how you should respond when your child says “no” to your instruction, your transition, or your positive comment.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you parent smarter, not harder, and create the parenting life you love! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Are you into the whole idea of picking a word for the year?

If you are, at the beginning of January you probably chose a word to help you align yourself to who you want to be - or at least working towards being - for the new year.

I’m not super into this trend or idea like other people are but for the past two years I did choose a word to focus on at least temporarily.

The word that I chose for 2022 is BRAVE because, at the time when I chose the word, I needed to be grounded in the concept of bravery, and I felt the nudge to be brave in all areas of life, in my marriage, in my personal life, in my business, and in parenting.

So today I want to share with you what being brave looks like for me in my parenting, and I’m sharing this with you in the hopes of inspiring you to be brave in your own life, and to remind you that you’re definitely not alone.

You’re not the only parent who struggles with toddler meltdowns - I dealt with that just last night - you’re not the only mom who finds it easier to take care of her kids than herself, you’re not the only parent finding it difficult and challenging to raise two different kids.

So today I’m happy to share with you what a very raw and real brave form of parenting looks like. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares why she picked BRAVE as her word for 2022;
She shares four different ways she’s practically being brave with raising her two toddlers; and
She illustrates what questions you need to ask yourself and reflect on so you can determine what life looks like for you when you’re embodying a new outlook.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you parent smarter, not harder, and create the parenting life you love! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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You’ve conquered the daytime potty training - or are in the midst of conquering it - and now you’re wondering how the heck do you get your child potty trained for nap.

If you’ve followed my daytime potty training plan, what I recommend for naptime is going to sound quite familiar to you because a lot of the strategies that you use for daytime training you will also use for naptime training.

The steps are simple, the how-to is simple, and you’ll gleam a lot from today’s episode as I review the how-to for naptime potty training.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn outlines five strategies to follow for successful naptime potty training;
She reviews how some of your child’s learned daytime potty training skills can carry over to naptime training and make the process easier for you; and
She shares what notes or data you can collect during daytime potty training to help you determine when to begin naptime potty training.

SHOW NOTES

There’s a lot more to potty training than the typical daytime potty training that most parents think of. The whole potty training process is a lot easier when you have an expert who can give you the how-to, give you the rundown, and support you through it. Sign up for a free call with me to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you potty train in ease: www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Summer is coming to an end and it’s about time to send your toddler back to preschool - or maybe to preschool for the first time.

I’ve really, really enjoyed the extra time with my kids at home this summer, much more than I was anticipating, so sending my oldest back to preschool will be a bit of an adjustment for the first month or so.

So today I want to talk about easing that transition, preparing our kiddos to go back to preschool. I’ll be sharing some specific action steps you can take to help prepare them mentally and physically for that school-time season.

Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn outlines five easy ways you can physically and mentally prepare your child to transition back to preschool;
She shares another person you may need to mentally and physically prepare for this transition; and
She shares how she’s personally feeling about this transition with her own kid.

SHOW NOTES

Parenting is easier when you have the knowledge, tools, and resources that can set you and your child up for success. Sign up for a free call to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help set you up for success: www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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You tackled the big to-do of potty training your child this summer and now you’re left wondering…

Okay, is my child ready to wear underwear to preschool?

When is a child ready to wear underwear to preschool? That’s what I’ll be answering in today’s episode.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares three important criteria that your child should meet in order to be ready to wear underwear to preschool;
She outlines what you should consider if your child is not fully potty trained but may be ready to head to preschool in underwear; and
She specifically shares when your child should NOT wear underwear to preschool.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free call to learn how my Coaching Program for Moms can help you potty train (and parent) with ease! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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A concept about parenting that I’ve really been focusing on with the parents that I coach is the idea of you being the expert of your own child. And not only that, but you being the BEST expert of your own child.

Do you feel like you’re an expert on your child?

Maybe you’ve never thought about it. Maybe your gut reaction is that no, you don’t feel like the expert of your own child. Maybe you have a lot of questions, a lot of doubt, a lot of uncertainty surrounding how you’re parenting or the decisions you make regarding your child.

Maybe it’s a little too easy for you to see the areas where you feel that you’re struggling in your parenting, and it’s a little too hard to see the areas where you’re thriving, where you are, indeed, the expert of your child.

I love developing this thought with moms and specifically to help you to hone in on your own parenting genius with your child.

I think one of the best ways that we can do this - that we can feel like the expert of our child and hone in on our parenting genius - is to build trust with ourselves and with our child.

It doesn’t have to be hard. It’s a baby step. But this one step can be that first thing to get that pendulum to swing in the opposite direction - away from the uncertainty, the fear, the self-doubt, the frustration, the confusion.

Which leads us to today’s episode. Let’s talk about creating trust for yourself and your child. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the strategy you can begin practicing today to build trust with yourself and with your child;
She sheds light on why it’s important to avoid using threatening statements with your child; and
She shares how practicing this skill now will serve you in the future as you continue to learn and use other parenting strategies.

SHOW NOTES

Learn how to become the expert of your own child in my Coaching Program for Moms. Sign up for a free call with me at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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If you’re in your potty training journey with your toddler and you’re concerned or worried that maybe your child is just not getting the hang of it or you feel that your child is struggling to learn the process or you feel that maybe they aren’t making the progress that you think your child should be making, the very first thing that I would look at and trouble shoot is the reward you’re using.

And if you’re concerned about progress and aren’t using rewards at all, then by all means add those rewards in.

The reason that I say that rewards is the first thing that you should troubleshoot in your potty training journey is that it’s a pretty dang easy thing to fix or to change, and that one small change with rewards in potty training can actually make a huge difference.

That’s my go-to when it comes to troubleshooting typical potty training progress issues because one small, easy change can make such an impact.

Now let’s talk about using rewards in potty training so that they can actually work for you and help your child become potty trained. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the best practice strategies for effectively using rewards in potty training;
She shares when you should NOT deliver a reward to your child; and
She shares the strategy for how to make your reward the most effective and most motivating for your child throughout potty training.

SHOW NOTES

Learn how to parent with ease in potty training and all of toddlerhood in my Coaching Program for Moms. Sign up for a free call with me at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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My 2- and 4-year old really love to go to the library, and one of the big problems that comes up for my kids is who is going to push the button to automatically open the door when we walk in and walk out.

It can be a battle, and if I don’t use the right strategies, there will for sure be a loud tantrum in the quiet library.

So today on the show I want to walk you through my tried-and-true AND easy to use strategy that has saved me frustration and that has consistently prevented any public tantrums from occurring for both of my kids in this situation.

The strategy is incredibly easy, and it can be applied in a lot of different situations to save you headache and heartache and give your kiddos the support that they may need.

Now on to my tried-and-true strategy. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the parenting strategy she uses to prevent public tantrums in the library with her two toddlers;
She outlines the step-by-step process for effectively using this strategy so that you can easily apply it in your own parenting; and
She explains what you need to do to figure out what strategies could help you prevent unwanted behavior.

SHOW NOTES

Parenting is easier when you have tools in your back pocket that actually work. Schedule a call with me to learn how my coaching program can support you in your parenting. www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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If it’s about time for you to start your potty training journey with your child, you may be wondering if you’ve “prepped” your child enough for the experience.

What do they need to know about the potty before they jump in?

How much do you need to mentally prepare them?

What should you tell them?

What should they experience?

I get lots of questions like this from moms who are about the jump into potty training for the first time. They want to make sure they set their child up for success when it comes to potty training, and I’m all aboard on that mentality.

So today let’s talk about this exposure to the potty before jumping into potty training so that you can begin your journey in ease.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains how your child naturally gets some potty exposure prior to your potty training journey;
She shares why you may NOT want to do a structured potty exposure for your child so that fears do not develop; and
She shares what you DO need to do when you start potty training if your child has been sitting on the potty for fun.

SHOW NOTES

Need potty training guidance and support? Schedule a call to learn how my Coaching program for moms can help you! www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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What do you think would happen to your child’s behavior, or maybe even to your relationship with your child, if you worked on what is negatively affecting or impacting YOU?

Take a couple of days and really think about that.

Think about the things that bother you, the things that keep popping up into your head, the irritations that drive you mad that are on repeat. What would happen if you started addressing those things in a positive way?

My thought is that when you begin tackling some of the things that are bothering you, when you begin to improve your personal self and your own life, then you may see positive changes in your child’s behavior. I’ll explain why in the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the #1 question that you need to ask yourself if you’re wanting to address your child’s unwanted behavior;
She illustrates how your behavior can potentially influence your child’s behavior; and
She shares her own reflection on how her behavior - the things she did or did not do - has recently impacted her children.

SHOW NOTES

Coaching program for moms of toddlers… sign up for a free call to see if it’s a right fit for you at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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One of the biggest beefs that many parents have with using rewards for potty training is that they think that their child will ALWAYS require to earn a reward in order to go pee pee on the potty, and that’s just not the case.

As you know, I’m a big fan of using rewards, especially for potty training, so today I want to guide you on how to effectively decrease those rewards after potty training is over.

To calm your fears, your child will NOT require a reward to go pee pee on the potty for the rest of her life.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the key piece to SUCCESSFULLY decreasing the use of rewards for daytime potty training;
She goes in detail on how she decreased the use of rewards for daytime potty training for her son; and
She shares under what specific situation it may be a good idea to keep rewards in place.

SHOW NOTES

It’s nice to have someone walk you through this type of parenting stuff, like decreasing rewards following potty training, plus behavior and all of motherhood. Sounds like support you want?! Sign up at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn to learn about my coaching program.

Episode 165: So, When is Potty Training Over?! https://www.lauralynnlapointe.com/blog/165

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What’s your favorite behavior strategy to use with toddlers?

I asked this very question to my husband, and that’s what I want to share with you today.

Plus, I want to let you in on the reasons that this strategy is his favorite strategy, to really let you see that parenting doesn’t have to be hard, using good parenting strategies can be effective, and that you can actually enjoy your parenting.

Let’s get right to it. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares her husband’s favorite toddler behavior strategy and explains how to use the strategy effectively;
She explains why this is her husband’s favorite strategy and, thus, should be one of your top strategies as well; and
She details how this strategy can prevent unwanted behaviors from occurring.

SHOW NOTES

Parenting doesn’t have to be hard, using good parenting strategies can be effective, and you can actually enjoy your parenting. This is what I focus on in my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms. Come learn more at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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There’s a lot more to potty training than just the typical stuff that gets talked about. There’s more to it than readiness signs, how to respond to accidents, and what method to use.

So today, I want to talk about another topic of potty training that isn’t talked about very much. I want to talk about what life looks like when potty training is over. The days, the weeks, and the months following potty training.

Like last week, this episode will be very helpful if this is your first time potty training.

So let’s get to it. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains what the days after potty training looks like, including what you should and should not be doing;
She shares when your child can wear underwear to daycare; and
She shares what you should begin thinking about the weeks and months following daytime potty training.

SHOW NOTES

There’s more to potty training than we realize. Schedule a call with me to learn how my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms can support you during the potty training process. Sign up at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Episode 165: So, When is Potty Training Over?! https://www.lauralynnlapointe.com/blog/165

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We talk a lot about potty training: the how-to, readiness signs, how long it will take.

We think about the process and what life will look like during that process when you’re actively potty training your child.

We also think about AFTER potty training is over… what life will be like, the freedom you’ll have from not having to change diapers, the money that you’ll save from not having to buy those diapers.

But one thing we don’t often talk about is “When is potty training over?”

How do you know when you’re done with potty training? When can you officially say you’re done training?

That’s what we’ll be talking about today. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn gives you her criteria for determining when potty training is officially over;
She specifically outlines when potty training is over when using the timer method or the potty sit schedule method; and
She shares what life looks like once you’re officially done with potty training.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

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What can you do to parent in ease?

Even when your toddler is whining… Even when your toddler is having a tantrum… Even when you’re trying to do 30 billion things at once AND deal with the kids who aren’t sharing or taking turns…

You can find ease and joy and peace in your parenting… EVEN when you’ve got littles at home… Even if they do behaviors that drive you nuts… Even if you currently feel stretched thin.

But how is that possible, you may ask.

There is a truth to your child’s behavior that you have to keep in mind when you’re in the thick of it, when you’re dealing with the messy house, when you’re again dealing with that typical toddler tantrum.

I’m here to empower you in your own parenting, so let’s do that today. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares what you need to know about your toddler’s development in order to parent in ease;
She explains why we use parenting strategies even when your toddler’s behavior is typical and developmentally appropriate; and
She gives you thought phrase examples that you can speak to yourself when you’re in the thick of it and dealing with the typical toddler tantrum.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s bring some joy and ease back into your motherhood journey. Schedule a call with me to learn how my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms can give you the support you need. Sign up at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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It’s potty training season and I’m a big, big fan of the potty training schedule method in which your child sits on the potty based off of a schedule, which is signaled by a timer.

One of the reasons why I love this method is because it tells both the child and the parent when it’s time to sit on the potty, and you can easily see where your child is making improvements in their potty training journey.

So today on the show I’m going to walk you through this potty training schedule method and let you know how it works.

Alright, let’s get to it. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the general flow of the potty training sit schedule method;
She walks you through how to gradually increase the time in-between the scheduled potty sits; and
She explains what to do in the method if your child is having too many accidents back-to-back.

SHOW NOTES

I offer potty training support in my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms! Schedule a call with me at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn to learn if my coaching program is the right fit for you.

Let’s connect!

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What do you do when you’re dealing with the same behavior in the same situation day after day after day?

When you’ve got these recurring behavior episodes, even if they seem to be pretty mild situations, it can be so easy for your brain to land in the trap of negativity and feelings of loneliness.

So what do you do? What do you do when you have negative behavior on repeat? This is what we’ll be talking about in today’s episode.

I’ll share how you can take control of these situations that are on repeat, and I’ll share a few examples of how I’ve done this in my own home.

Now it’s time to take back some control. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares different ways you can take back control when you’re dealing with unwanted behaviors that are on repeat;
She explains how she has used a reward system and a strategy called Pivot & Praise to take back control for two different behaviors; and
She describes how evaluating a strategy’s effectiveness is important.

SHOW NOTES

In my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms I teach you parenting strategies that actually work. Schedule a call with me at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn to learn if my coaching program can help you parent smarter, not harder and bring some ease into your parenting.

You can find Episode 129: Reward Systems with Toddlers: A Case Study at https://laura-lynn-lapointe.mykajabi.com/blog/129

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If you plan to potty train your toddler this summer, this episode is for you.

I’ll be going over three keys that you’ll want to follow to get potty training started and DONE!

Let’s talk potty training. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares how you can reduce your stress and anxiety about potty training before actually beginning the journey with your toddler;
She explains all of the different pieces to consider when formulating your potty training game plan; and
She describes the potty training method that she used to train her son and how that specific method informs you on your child’s progress throughout potty training.

SHOW NOTES

In my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms I teach you the potty training method that I used to potty train my own son. For potty training and parenting support and encouragement, schedule a call with me at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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Today’s episode is all about the blame game that we mamas play. Yep, I'm including myself as a participant in this blame game bucket.

It’s so easy to blame ourselves, but today I want to talk about how we can move past this very common parenting struggle so that you can parent in ease and actually enjoy being a mom.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains three keys she follows as an alternative solution to the blame game;
She illustrates those three keys with a recent example from her own life; and
She describes what actions she took to be more calm, more positive, and yell less in a very difficult season of her own life.

SHOW NOTES

Have you heard about my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms? Schedule a call with me to learn more at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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Today on the show we are talking about two fundamental strategies you will want to follow if you are using rewards to potty training your toddler.

I’m a big fan of rewards, I used rewards to potty train my now 4 year-old son, and I will definitely be using rewards when I potty train my 2 year-old daughter. But here’s the thing about rewards… They can work really, really well at helping your child learn a new skill - in this case potty training- but we have to use them in the right way.

It’s not rocket science, but you don’t know what you don’t know, right?!

Now onto the two keys when using rewards in potty training. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the three different rewards she used when potty training her son;
She explains why it’s important for your child to be motivated to earn a certain reward; and
She describes why it’s important to ensure that your child only has access to that potty training reward in potty training only.

SHOW NOTES

Come learn about my potty training strategies that can easily be applied to the rest of your parenting in my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms! Schedule a call with me to learn more at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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In my own parenting I am ALL about using strategies that are easy to use, that work at improving behavior in the moment I'm with my toddler, and that help my child with skill development and improve behavior long-term.

So today on the show I want to share with you the strategy that I use daily with both my 2-year-old and my 4-year-old to decrease whining and to increase appropriate communication.

Who wouldn’t want less whining and more appropriate communication?!

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the parenting strategy that she uses in her own home to decrease whining and increase appropriate requests;
She gives examples of how she uses the strategy with a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old; and
She describes how this strategy decreases unwanted behavior like whining and improves desirable behavior like appropriate asking and requesting.

SHOW NOTES

Bring ease and confidence to your parenting! Schedule a call with me to learn about my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms where I teach strategies to help you confidently parent in ease at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Since Spring and Summer are key times for potty training for most parents, for the next foreseeable future I’ll be adding in extra potty training episodes on the podcast to give you some additional support. I’ll be talking about the how-to of potty training, using rewards, outlining when potty training is over, and describing what life really looks like when potty training is over, which will be very helpful if your child is the first one you’re potty training. Don’t forget that I do have a lot of previous episodes on potty training, so search my episodes to see if any of those episodes can give you some guidance when it comes to potty training.

But today I want to get a little personal and talk about what I would change about my own potty training journey.

Even if your potty training journey resulted in successfully potty training your toddler, there may still be some things you’d do differently, and I, as a real mama, am in the same boat as you; there’s something major that I would change, and I’ll share that with you today.

I’ll also be reviewing the method that I used so that you can get a better understanding of what my potty training journey looked like.

Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the method she used to potty train her son;
She shares the struggle she had during potty training and what she would change so that the struggle wouldn’t be so hard; and
She describes why potty training has more to do with the parent than with the child.

SHOW NOTES

Potty training doesn’t have to be stressful! Schedule a call with me to learn about my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms where I teach the ins and outs of potty training and strategies to help you confidently parent in ease at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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If your child’s behavior isn’t the problem, then what do you think IS the problem?

Today I’m putting on my sassy pants for a little bit - which I rarely do - but I do it for a good reason.

I want you to understand your toddler’s behavior or your preschooler’s behavior in a better way, in a more true way, which will bring so much clarity and peace to your motherhood journey.

Alright, the sassy pants are coming on. I hope you enjoy. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the real problem to your child’s typical toddler behaviors;
She shares what you have to keep in check to keep your calm and your cool when dealing with toddler behaviors; and
She describes why it is so important to understand toddler behavior from a develop and behavior standpoint.

SHOW NOTES

Parenting can be easy! Schedule a call with me to learn about my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms where I teach you the science of behavior, the strategies that will save you tons of heartache and headaches, and how you can confidently parent in ease at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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Does your toddler do the potty dance?

Even if your child is wearing underwear and is mostly or completely potty trained, she may still be doing the potty dance.

When she has to go potty, she may fidget and dance around. Or she may walk around in a funny way because she’s trying to hold it. Or she even could be holding herself because she has to go potty but won’t go to the bathroom, or won’t tell you.

This is one of the MOST frequent issues that mamas come to me with. Their child is fully potty trained, she doesn’t have accidents, she’s wearing underwear all day, and yet she won’t ever tell you that she needs to go.

Why is it that your child does this potty dance, is fully potty trained, and won’t tell you that she needs to go? And what can you do about it? That’s what we’ll be talking about today.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the reason for why a child can be fully potty trained but not request the need to go sit on the potty;
She shares why it’s so important for newly potty trained children to have the skill of requesting the bathroom; and
She describes how to teach your child to request the potty during potty training AND if your child is already potty trained.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

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Does your toddler grunt or make some other similar noise when she’s upset or frustrated about something that’s going on around her?

Maybe her brother took away the toy that she was playing with. Maybe you told her that she can’t have a snack right now. Maybe you’re making her go inside from outside playtime.

What’s really going on is that your child is responding to some irritating thing with sounds instead of words.

Is this normal? And what can you do about it? That’s what I’ll be talking about in today’s episode.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains why children may grunt when they are frustrated instead of communicating with their words like they normally do;
She shares how you can respond to this grunting sound to aid your child in his or her development; and
She shares the communication tool that she uses in her home daily with her own children.

SHOW NOTES

Learn about my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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Do you have a toddler who just does NOT want to play alone?

He wants to play with you. He wants your interaction. He wants you near him during his playtime. He wants you to do most of the playing.

If this sounds like playtime at your house, keep listening to this episode.

Today I’ll be sharing what you can do when your child relies on you for his playtime and specific tools you can use to begin teaching your child how to play without you. And, of course, I’ll be reviewing that ever-important development piece that we must never forget when it comes to understanding our child’s behavior.

Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the different ways that playtime can look if your child relies on you for playtime or doesn’t like playing alone;
She shares specific questions you should ask yourself to determine if there is an underlying problem regarding your child’s playtime; and
She gives you specific tools that you can use to begin teaching your child how to play alone.

SHOW NOTES

Learn about my 90 Day Coaching Program for Moms at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Parenting should come with a manual, shouldn’t it?

While that seems like a great idea and an opportunity that someone should have jumped on a long time ago, the reality of it is that every child is an individual. That means they have their individual personalities, their individual preferences, their individual idiosyncrasies, and their individual needs.

It’s true for potty training as well. You may be holding a so-called potty training “manual” or book, you’ve followed it to a T, and yet your toddler is still not potty trained. What gives?

If you’re in the boat of using more of a child-led or child-initiated potty training method and it’s just not doing the trick, your toddler is still not getting the hang of it after a good consistent effort, keep listening to this episode.

Today I will be sharing what to do next if that child-led potty training method isn’t cutting it and you’re ready to have your child become potty trained already, with their individual needs, personalities, preferences, and all.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the differences between a child-led potty training method and a parent-led potty training method;
She shares the typical issues children may experience when the child-led potty training method isn’t working for them; and
She outlines how you can remedy your child’s struggles with the child-led potty training method to get them back on potty training track.

SHOW NOTES

Learn about my 90 Day Mama Coaching Program at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Do you feel like you’re just “getting through” this season of your motherhood?

This season of life - dealing with the terrible twos, struggling with the trying 3s, toddlerhood - can feel so exhausting, so draining, and so frustrating.

If you feel like you have to hide out in the pantry to make a phone call or sneak away to your bathroom just to catch a break, this episode is for you.

Today on the show I want to share how you can create a season of motherhood that’s a bit different - and much more positive - than this “just getting through” mentality.

Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares how easy it is to have this “just getting through” mentality with every stage of your child’s development;
She answers the question, “Are you thriving?” for her own motherhood journey and shares her personal definition for “thriving”; and
She outlines how you can begin to thrive in your parenting by first determining what you want your “thriving” results to be for your own personal motherhood journey.

SHOW NOTES

Learn about my 90 Day Mama Coaching Program at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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If you have two or more toddlers running around your house, you already know what a battle it can be for your kids to share toys.

And you are well aware of increased noise, the stress, and the pressure that this not wanting to share behavior can bring up. So is it a big deal?

Is it a big deal that your toddler struggles with sharing? And what can you do about it to help your child learn appropriate sharing and make your home more peaceful in the process?

We’ll talk about it in today’s episode. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the important toddler development piece that you need to understand so that you don’t get mad and yell at your toddler for not sharing;
She explains the different reasons for why a toddler may struggle with sharing; and
She outlines multiple easy-to-use strategies for managing and responding to your toddler’s struggle with sharing, especially with siblings.

SHOW NOTES

Learn about my 90 Day Mama Coaching Program at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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You CAN have control in your parenting. You CAN feel confident in your parenting. And you CAN experience stability in your parenting.

How?

By using strategies that work. By parenting smarter and not harder.

One of the practical ways that you can do this and achieve that success in your parenting and with your toddler’s behavior is through the strategy of choice. Simply providing choices to your toddler.

I’ve talked about this strategy before but today on the show I want to show you how you can use this strategy to work for you and with your own preferences in mind. These strategies are like your best friend. They’re on your side and they have your back. If you feel like these parenting strategies are out to get you or make your life worse, keep listening to the episode.

Alright, now onto the power of choice. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains why the parenting strategy of providing a choice works at preventing unwanted behaviors;
She outlines how you can use choice to work for you AND your toddler; and
She shares examples for how you can use choice in a flexible and outside-of-the-box way.

SHOW NOTES

Learn how you can make the easy-to-use parenting strategies work for you in my 90 day mama coaching program. Sign up for a free clarity call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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One of the most frequent questions that I get asked about potty training is what types of rewards are good rewards to use for potty training.

It’s a good question because if you're going to use rewards to help create a successful potty training plan, then you might as well use rewards that are actually going to work.

Maybe you’ve never considered it but using technology as a reward within potty training may be a dang good reward for your kiddo. But what does that look like? How do you use technology as a reward in potty training?

Today on the show I’ll share how you can use technology as a reward and use it to your advantage. Of course, in my own personal and professional potty training experience, I have used technology A LOT as a reward. I’ll share how it can be done.

Now let’s talk about technology and potty training. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains why she uses rewards to help teach the skills and train the child to be potty trained;
She shares different types of technology that you can use as a reward; and
She reviews the how-to for effectively and successfully using rewards in potty training to get your child to be potty trained.

SHOW NOTES

Learn how you can parent smarter, not harder and actually feel like a confident parent in my one-on-one mama coaching package. To learn how I can help you create that ease in parenting, sign up for my clarity call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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What I know from studying the research (and personally living it out) is that kids - and all people - love and thrive on routine and structure and consistency.

But how can we create that structure, provide that consistency, and also tackle some of these typical unwanted toddler behaviors in our own homes in a practical way?

Rules, my friends.

Contrary to what many people believe, rules actually provide freedom. That structure and that consistent expectation provides freedom, not the opposite.

So today on the show I want to give you the how-to for creating effective rules for your toddlers that you can use at home, and I’ll walk you through two different rules I’ve successfully incorporated in my own home with my toddlers.

Yep, these rules actually got rid of some unwanted behaviors that were driving me nuts.

Let’s create some effective rules. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the steps to follow to create effective rules for your toddler;
She reviews the key pieces to make them as effective as possible and actually work at increasing desirable and decreasing undesirable behaviors; and
She shares in detail the two sets of rules that she has successfully used with her own toddlers.

SHOW NOTES

Need help with creating these household rules? Sign up for your FREE coaching call and we’ll walk through it together! Sign up at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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Have you ever been in a situation in which your toddler asks for or requests your help in some way, you begin to offer that help, and then they freak out, whine, and get upset because you are helping them… and you’re doing the exact thing they wanted help with.

You’re left feeling, “uh, what the heck just happened?!”

These types of moments are not too surprising with our still-developing toddlers, and if we can understand this toddler behavior with a developmental lens, parenting becomes a heck of a lot easier, so much less irritating, and much more enjoyable for us.

But maybe you’re still left questioning yourself: what on earth do I do in this situation? How should I handle the “I want help but I actually don’t want help” scenario?

My main advice here: direct and clear communication is key.

Let’s talk about that now. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains developmentally why toddlers ask for help but then get upset when you offer that help;
She walks you through how to handle and manage behavior within two different examples and demonstrates how you can respond in the moment; and
She shares how providing choices can help prevent the behaviors from occurring under these circumstances.

SHOW NOTES

In order for you to bring ease to your parenting, in order for you to not lash out, get frustrated, or blame yourself for your toddler’s behaviors is to understand your child’s behavior in terms of development. Looking at behavior as science and looking at behavior with the developmental framework is what I dive deep into within my coaching sessions. Sign up for your FREE coaching call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

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Today’s episode is all about the how-to for pee pee accidents that occur within potty training, and it’s a pretty common question I get:

What do I do when my child has an accident?

How should I respond when my toddler has an accident in potty training?

I’ll tell you everything you need to know, and don’t worry, it’s not rocket science. It’s pretty straight forward and makes sense.

Now let’s get you out of that puddle. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn gives you the step-by-step process for how to respond to accidents that occur within potty training;
She explains why it’s important for your child to have accidents in underwear (instead of diapers or pull-ups) in the potty training journey; and
She shares why accidents are a good thing for your child to experience within potty training.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching call and get your potty training, behavior, and parenting questions answered. Free support… What more could you want? Sign up for your free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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We are wrapping up this year, and with the end of one year comes the beginning of another year.

With a new year comes new goals, aspirations, improvements, and well-being.

So today on the show I want to share with you my personal reflection of my parenting this past year, specifically my biggest struggle with parenting two young toddlers, and how I plan to move forward so that the struggle doesn’t stay as a struggle.

I’m certain you’ll feel me in the struggle that I share today. You’re not alone.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares where she struggles in her parenting as it relates to parenting two young toddlers;
She explains the process she used to discover the solutions to overcome her common parenting struggles; and
She shares the ways she plans to move forward in her struggles and how she plans to make improvements to her parenting journey.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a FREE 30-minute coaching call so I can share with you my science-backed strategies at preventing the typical unwanted behaviors - hello tantrums - and the science behind how behavior works because, when you understand how something works, it’s a heck of a lot easier to prevent, manage, and deal with. Let’s bring some ease into your parenting. Sign up for your free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Do you ever feel like your kids are acting like total nutcases, especially when you’re out in public?

Maybe you’re feeling that your kids are the only kids.

Your kids are the only kids who are loud and noisy. Your kids are the only kids who are touching everything in sight. Your kids are the only kids who are running all over the place.

It feels embarrassing and can be mentally exhausting.

Today on the show I want to talk about those kids of ours who are acting like nutcases while out in public and what we, as parents, can think about the whole situation.

Perspective is everything and today I’m here to give you some perspective.

Now onto the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares a situation when her own toddlers acted like nutcases in public and how she took perspective about the situation to bring ease in her own parenting;
She explains why it is crucial to take perspective and analyze what is going on within a situation with your child’s behavior; and
She reviews why our children’s unwanted behavior in public can be normal.

SHOW NOTES

Whether you feel like your kids are, indeed, nutcases, you’re overwhelmed with the toddler behavior, or you’re feeling like a crummy parent who has no idea what she’s doing, I’ve got your back. Schedule a free 30-minute call with me and I’ll give you some insight and perspective to parenting and your child’s behavior to help make you feel at ease and confident in your parenting. Schedule your free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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What to do when you deliver a choice to your child, you’re banking that it’ll take care of all of that whining and toddler tantrum in that moment, and then flop: it all goes wrong. Or at least it seems that it all goes wrong.

As I always say, we can use all of the best parenting strategies out there but our kids are still kids, they’re human, we’re human, and the strategies aren’t going to work 100% of the time.

Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that strategies like providing choices are incredible and powerful and can have such a positive effect within your parenting, but the strategy may not work each and every time. This is normal and this is to be expected. That’s why it’s important to have an arsenal of good parenting strategies.

So today on the show I want to walk you through how to handle a situation that seems to go completely wrong when using the strategy of providing choice and how you can turn it around so that the strategy can still work for you.

Situations aren’t always perfect, but we can get better at picking up these pieces and putting them together in a way that they will fit, and that will save you a lot of headache and heartache in the long run.

Alright, on to providing choices. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn reviews how to use the strategy of providing choice effectively;
She explains how a toddler may respond imperfectly to the strategy, which the parenting textbook doesn’t cover; and
She shares how you can respond to your child when he or she doesn’t respond to the strategy perfectly and still get the strategy to work for you.

SHOW NOTES

Regardless of what strategy you’re using that seems to not work or seems to all go wrong, you’re not alone and there are ways to get these strategies to work for you, we just have to be open to learning the strategies and being flexible in the moment. I’ll help you through it. Schedule a free 30-minute call with me at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn and I’ll walk you through whatever situation you’re having with your toddler that makes you feel like you’ve been eaten alive so that you can see how a situation can get better and actually have the tools to do it.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Have you dabbled with potty training but you’re ready to put the pedal to the metal, go all in, and ditch those diapers for good?

Maybe you’ve given your toddler the time and the space to get comfortable with the potty, to give it a try on their own, and to let them do it on their terms. But maybe, just maybe, your toddler isn’t daytime potty trained.

Don’t worry. It’s not just your toddler and you’re not the only one in this boat. Many, many parents have gone this route of being lax about potty training but soon finding that they need to ramp up the strategies a little bit to actually get their kiddo potty trained.

And guess what, some kids actually do need to be “trained.” They need to go through the potty training process. They may not be potty trained on their own or in their own timing, and that’s okay.

So today on the show I’m going to answer the very common question of how to jump into potty training when you’ve dabbled with it a bit but you’re ready to get it done for good.

Now let’s talk about how to move beyond the dabble in potty training. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares how dabbling within potty training can produce some benefits to the structured potty training method;
She explains why some children need to be formally potty trained; and
She outlines what you need to do to begin formal potty training with your toddler.

SHOW NOTES

If you feel intimidated, stuck, or uncertain about this whole potty training thing, I have your back. Schedule a free call with me at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn so we can hash out how you can get potty training done in ease.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Today on the show I want to share with you one of the main areas where I struggle in my own parenting journey, and I want to share it with you because, if I had to guess, you likely struggle in this area too.

Today I want to share with you the area where I slack off in my parenting. Where I loosen up. Where I lack consistency.

It’s probably similar for you.

You see, you are likely changing the consistency in those strategies that you’re using and it is likely having an effect on your child’s behavior, but you don’t even realize that it’s happening.

Alright, now let me share with you how I’m a slacker and where my struggle lies within my own parenting. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn discusses why children can be more well-behaved when only one parent is present versus two parents present;
She explains why this is the case; and
She shares how she struggles with parenting her kids when her husband comes home from work.

SHOW NOTES

When we really begin to see what is going on in a specific situation, we can get at the root cause of the problem AND THEN come up with solutions that directly target and fix those root causes. It’s smart parenting. It’s parenting with science. It’s understanding behavior. Let’s do that for you. Sign up for your free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Newsflash! I have one major beef about using rewards within potty training: using them ineffectively. Nothing drives me more mad.

So today on the show I want to talk about how to effectively use rewards within potty training and what you should watch out for when using stickers and those potty sticker charts to help teach the skill of potty training.

Now let me help you use rewards within potty training so they actually work. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn reviews why you should consider using rewards to help teach the skill of potty training;
She discusses how sticker charts are used within potty training and why they may not be the best idea for your child;
She shares multiple tips for how to use rewards in potty training to help get your toddler potty trained for good!

SHOW NOTES

Let’s dive into potty training! Schedule a free 30-minute call with me so we can get your kiddo - and you - ready for potty training. Schedule your free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Most of us love a good holiday celebration, and before we know it we are going to be thrown into over a month of celebrating.

From Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years, from party after party after party, and from one activity to another, your schedule is going to be booked. The same goes for your kids as well. Maybe you love it or maybe you hate it.

But the reality of this holiday craziness is that there are bound to be a few extra meltdowns or tantrums here or there - from your toddler of course, but maybe also from you - and it really shouldn’t come as a surprise, should it?

Today on the show we’re going to be talking about these meltdowns that happen around the holidays: why they are more likely to occur at this time and what you can do to help your kid - and yourself - through this holiday season.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn discusses what can contribute, influence, and give rise to your child’s meltdowns that occur around the holidays;
She shares easy and specific ways you can help your child through the holidays and prevent some of these meltdowns from occurring; and
She illustrates how the holiday craziness can also affect you - and your behavior as it relates to your child - as well.

SHOW NOTES

The holidays don’t have to drive you mad as it relates to your child’s behavior. Sign up for a free 30-minute call so I can help you support your child during the holiday madness. Schedule your free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Do you ever yell at your kids?

I know you’re thinking, “well, of course, Laura Lynn. Yes, I yell at my kids, but I don’t want to admit that to you.”

You probably don’t want to admit that to me or to anybody else because the best rule of thumb, those best practice strategies that all of the experts teach us is to not yell at our kids, to avoid yelling at our kids.

While I 100% agree with this, that it’s not going to be best for you or for your kiddo if your go-to strategy is yelling, I do want to take it a step further and talk about when yelling is okay, even when yelling is a GOOD idea.

Yep, today I’m going to give you permission to yell at your kid, but my thoughts may be a bit different than you think.

Let me tell you when you CAN yell. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn reviews when and why you should avoid yelling when dealing with unwanted behaviors;
She explains WHEN you can yell at your kids and WHY it’s a good idea to do so; and
She shares some examples from her own parenting life when she has had to yell at her toddler.

SHOW NOTES

If yelling is your go-to strategy for dealing with your toddler’s unwanted behavior, schedule a free 30-minute call with me so I can help you get unstuck from your yelling auto-response to any and every behavior. Schedule your free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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With the holidays just shortly around the corner, you may find yourself with some time off and a toddler who is ready to be potty trained.

Summer is always a big time for parents to jump into potty training, but the holiday season may also be a pretty popular time to get potty training done.

If you’re thinking it may be go-time for your toddler and potty training, keep listening to today’s episode. We’ll be talking about some important things you need to consider with potty training around the holidays and how to best prepare.

Now let’s chat about potty training during the holiday season. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the one question you need to ask yourself when trying to decide if you should potty train your toddler during the holiday season;
She explains the things you should consider for potty training your toddler over the holidays; and
She provides multiple ways that you can begin to prepare for potty training over the holidays.

SHOW NOTES

If you’re finding yourself uncertain about whether or not your toddler - and you - are ready for potty training, schedule a free 30-minute call with me so you can discover when it’s time to jump into potty training. Schedule your free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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You’re likely here today because you’re ready to ditch the overwhelm and the frustration that can come with parenting toddlers, dealing with tantrums, hearing the whining, and managing all of the junky behaviors.

And, of course, I’m here today to help you live a more peaceful parenting life, to help you create some calm, to help you parent smarter and not harder, and to help you parent easier.

So today on the show I want to talk about proactive versus reactive parenting, and why your goal is to aim for that proactive parenting.

Let’s talk about those differences between reactive parenting and proactive parenting. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the differences between reactive and proactive parenting;
She explains how proactive parenting can solve those unwanted toddler behavior problems long-term; and
She shares how you personally can benefit from using proactive parenting methods.

SHOW NOTES

Responding to your child’s unwanted behaviors in a proactive way can help bring ease, calm, and confidence to your parenting. Sign up for a free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn to learn how you can parent proactively.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Our kids see and hear everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that we do and say.

Whether it’s killing a bug on the wall by hitting it with your shoe or saying some inappropriate words when you stub your toe, it’s no surprise that at some point or another, your toddler will copy that same behavior.

So today on the show I want to talk about children who curse or use inappropriate language, and what you can do to make it stop.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the inappropriate language her toddler uses and how she has handled it;
She explains how you can inform your child that the language is not okay without providing too much attention; and
She shares why we must be mindful of our words and actions in front of our kiddos.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s get back to the basics of behavior and bring some ease in your parenting. Sign up for a free call at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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What makes parenting much more difficult is when we attach personal meaning to our child’s behavior and blame ourselves.

To be straight with you, it’s not helpful to you and it’s not helpful to your child, but we still do this, we still attach this personal blame to ourselves, and it needs to stop.

So today, let’s talk about how we should actually view behavior and quit making life harder than it needs to be.

Now let me share with you how I view behavior. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the ways in which we attach personal meaning to our child’s behavior, like by saying, “I’m the reason he’s acting out.”;
She explains how she views behavior objectively so that we don’t make behavior subjective; and
She shares her trick for viewing her own children’s behavior for what it is, just behavior.

SHOW NOTES

When you can detach yourself from your child’s behavior, handling the situation becomes so much easier. Schedule a free call to learn how at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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What happens when your toddler, your preschooler, has potty issues at school?

This can be a pretty common problem to have but it can be a little tricky to figure out what is going on or how to solve the problem.

I’ve had to deal with this situation myself with my three-year-old because he just wouldn’t go pee pee at school; he’d hold it until he got home around lunchtime.

So today on the show I want to share with you specific ways you can support your child if he does have potty problems at school to minimize those accidents or problems and how the school can also support your child through this situation.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the potty problem her own preschooler has had at school;
She explains how you can support your child if he doesn’t go pee pee at school; and
She shares specific ways the school and teacher can help support preschoolers so they are less likely to encounter potty training issues.

SHOW NOTES

Schedule a free consult call to work through whatever potty, behavior, or parenting problems you feel you’re encountering at www.bit.ly/chatwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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No one likes to suffer. We also don’t like to talk about it because we think that we are the only ones who suffer or we think we are the only ones who suffer in THIS specific way…

Bedtime battles, ditching the paci, getting your kid poop potty trained, whatever it is.

So today on the show I want to talk about the difference between suffering and struggling and what you can do when you are suffering in your own parenting.

Now let’s address this unspoken suffering. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the difference between struggling and suffering in your parenting;
She shares specific ways she has suffered in her own parenting; and
She illustrates what you can do when you are suffering in your own parenting to get out of the suffering state.

SHOW NOTES

Schedule a one-on-one coaching session so you can overcome and move past the suffering in your parenting at www.bit.ly/behaviorsession.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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There may be lots of little situations that your toddler or preschooler struggles in the day-to-day ongoings of life.

Getting dressed. Stepping away from the TV. Eating dinner. Coming inside from outside playtime. Not splashing in the bathtub.

Your child may even struggle with refusing to get into the car or having a very difficult time getting into the car. Cue the tantrum.

So today on the show I want to talk about how you can respond when your child is refusing to get into the car AND how you can parent smarter and not harder by preventing this situation from happening in the first place…

Because hey, you got your kid dressed, bags backed, shoes on, and everyone out the door, so why make getting into the car any harder than it needs to be?

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the different reasons for why a child may have a difficult time getting into the car;
She explains specific preventive strategies you can use to help prevent this refusal to getting into the car before it becomes a problem; and
She coaches you on how to respond in the moment if your child does refuse to get into the car.

SHOW NOTES

Schedule a one-on-one coaching session to learn how to get a bigger picture of your child’s unwanted behaviors and learn how to make parenting easier at www.bit.ly/behaviorsession.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Have you ever thought about using a reward system for your toddler or preschooler?

Maybe bedtime battles are killing you right now. Or maybe you’d appreciate a happier morning routine. Maybe you’ve got a toddler who keeps getting out of his bed at naptime, or mealtimes have become a big pain in the butt.

Whatever specific moment or situation is eating into your skin right now, maybe you’ve considered using a reward system. Or maybe you haven’t.

I've implemented multiple reward systems with my toddler and they have all been incredibly effective. But the best reward system is the one that won me my time and my freedom back, not to mention my peace of mind.

If you’ve ever considered a reward system or you have an unwanted and undesirable situation brewing with your toddler right now, this episode is for you. Today I’ll be sharing the ins and outs of the reward system that I used with my own toddler at naptime and how it created some much needed peace and sanity for this busy mama.

Now let’s get to it. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares how she’s used different reward systems to target different unwanted situations with her toddler;
She explains the reward system she used for naptime battles and how it gave back her time; and
She illustrates that reward systems don’t have to be complicated or hard to use… they can be really easy to use and super effective.

SHOW NOTES

Schedule a one-on-one coaching session to learn how a reward system can bring back peace and sanity into your life at www.bit.ly/behaviorsession.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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The phrase “Potty Training” can seem intimidating in and of itself but when you think about “Co-Parenting and Potty Training,” well, maybe you’re even more unsure how you’ll do it and how your toddler will respond.

I don’t want potty training to be daunting, scary, or intimidating for you, so today on the show I’m going to break down potty training while co-parenting, shed some light on the different ways it can look - because it will likely look differently for everybody - and help you feel more confident and at ease with potty training your toddler, even if your kiddo jumps from house to house, from one parent to the other.

Let’s dive right in and talk about co-parenting and potty training. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains three general ways potty training can look while co-parenting;
She shares the important ways both parents can be on the same page about potty training to help with consistency; and
She provides guidelines for how a parent can help facilitate potty training if the parent isn’t able to fully participate in potty training.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s get the potty training process moving smoothly for you and your kiddo. Sign up for a one-on-one potty training coaching session with me at www.bit.ly/pottyconsult for only $39!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Today I want you to stop and ask yourself what do YOU think the secret to using parenting strategies is?

Is it perfection? Is it using the strategy 100% of the time and never missing a beat? Is it the ability to shift strategies depending on the situation, the behavior, your child’s needs at the moment.

Maybe you have no idea. Your mind is blank. You don’t have a clue.

If you find yourself in that boat, mama, don’t blame yourself. Parenting is hard. It’s tiring. It’s taxing. It takes a village. And to be honest, sometimes we make it more difficult than it actually is. Parenting can be easy. Using parenting strategies can be easy.

So of course today I’m going to share with you the secret to parenting strategies. Why? Because when you learn the secret to parenting strategies, suddenly parenting will seem easier. That lightbulb inside of you will go off. It’ll go off now as you’re listening to the episode but it’ll, more importantly, go off when you’re with your kid, responding in the moment, using those parenting strategies.

And when this happens, welcome yourself… because you’ve just stepped over the threshold into easier parenting.

Now on to that secret, huh? Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn boils parenting strategies down to one very easy to understand and manageable concept that will leave you feeling confident;
She shares how your mind can play some nasty tricks on you when you’re in the middle of managing your child’s behavior; and
She references many common parenting strategies and shows what they all have in common.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Maybe when you look at your toddler or preschooler all you see is the “BAD” behavior: fighting with siblings, not sharing toys, NEVER listening to you or following your directions (especially the first time), terrible mealtime behaviors, a mean or a bad attitude, being strong-willed when it comes to bedtime and the bedtime routine, tantrums, tantrums, and more tantrums, and oh, we can’t forget the annoying whining.

You see the “BAD”.... it’s easy to spot, you can’t miss it. And sure, “BAD” or unwanted behavior doesn’t mean your child is a bad kid and it doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent, but that doesn’t change much of your feelings.

You’re sick and tired of being, well, sick and tired.

You’re sick and tired of feeling how parenting a toddler, your own child, seems and feels so dang difficult… maybe impossible. You’re done with feeling frustrated at mealtime or bathtime or potty time or any time when your kiddo acts up and you only see those “BAD” behaviors.

There’s got to be an easier way, there’s got to be joy to parenting otherwise parents would stop becoming parents, and you’re ready to turn things around.

If this sounds even just a tiny bit like you, of how you’re feeling, this episode’s for you. Let me tell you how to turn things around when you only see “BAD” behavior.

Let’s turn things around, shall we? Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the two things you can do when you only see “BAD” behavior;
She illustrates how doing these two things is the foundation for any other parenting strategies you may use; and
She shares a time in her own parenting when she felt stuck by “BAD” behavior.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s get you unstuck from only seeing the “BAD” behavior. Sign up for a one-on-one coaching session with me at www.bit.ly/behaviorsession for only $39!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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If you’re a mama with long hair like me, you also dread when your toddler pulls your hair.

Maybe it was by accident or maybe it was intentional. Regardless of the intent, I have thought many times about cutting my hair because it has become a pet peeve of mine when my hair gets pulled. It drives me nuts.

But what we want to know is whether it’s normal. And more importantly, how can we make it stop?

So, how do we get our toddlers to stop pulling our hair? Let’s find out. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains four different reasons for why toddlers may pull your hair;
She shares how you can respond when your child does pull your hair so that the hair pulling doesn’t continue long-term; and
She shares how she responded when her own two kids pulled her hair.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for a one-on-one coaching session with me to dive into why your child may be pulling your hair, having tantrums, whining, or other types of toddler behaviors at www.bit.ly/behaviorsession for only $39!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Maybe you are finding yourself in a season of parenting where you’re ready to make some changes.

You’re ready for ease in your parenting, you’re ready to enjoy parenting your child, and you really desire to feel confident in HOW you are parenting your child.

Maybe the yelling is no longer working for you… one because long-term, it’s not an effective strategy, two because you don’t like what it’s doing to your relationship with your child, and three you know that there has to be something BETTER and MORE to being a parent of a toddler.

Maybe, just maybe, you’re looking for an all-around turnaround in your parenting, with your homelife, with your feelings, in your personal life, and with your marriage.

You and I both know that how we feel in one area of our life spills over into other areas…. So it’s not so crazy to think that when you create ease in your parenting that you then create ease in other areas as well. And thus, here you are looking for the best way to parent, you’re looking for ease in parenting, you’re looking to these toddler years as parenting smarter and not harder, you’re searching for strategies that actually work.

But maybe you’re timid. I mean, change is hard. It’s easier to stay where you are. To continue to push through. It’s just a season, right?!

But I don’t want that for you. I don’t want you to stay in the muck and the mud. I don’t want you to just push through and wait for the light at the end of the tunnel. I want you to find that light now. To create that light now. And you can do that by using parenting strategies that do, indeed, work.

But yes, that means you’ll have to make some changes. That means you’ll likely have to switch up how you’re responding in certain moments. But it’s worth it, right?

It’s worth it to find that light. It’s worth it to create ease in your parenting. It’s worth it to enjoy being your child’s parent. And it’s worth it to feel confident in your parenting.

Later in the show I’ll share how you can begin creating that ease in your parenting to give you

So, is using new parenting strategies really THAT hard? It’s time to find out. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the uncomfortable part of making changes in your parenting style;
She shares the hardest part of using new parenting strategies but how it gives you that ease in parenting long-term; and
She discusses the “magic sauce” of parenting to help you feel confident and empowered.

SHOW NOTES

Take that first step in using new parenting strategies that actually work. Sign up for a one-on-one coaching session with me at www.bit.ly/behaviorsession for only $39!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Need to potty train a strong-willed toddler?

Today on the show I’m sharing three simple YET important tips for potty training your strong-willed toddler.

So if you’re prepping for your first go at potty training or you're swinging back around for another potty training attempt AND you’ve got a kiddo who thinks “it’s my way or the highway,” this is your potty training episode. I’ll be giving you three easy tools for getting that strong-willed toddler of yours potty trained.

Let’s get to potty training your strong-willed toddler for good. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the #1 strategy that you don’t want to forget when potty training a strong-willed toddler;
She gives specific ways you can give your toddler some sense of control throughout the potty training process; and
She shares how you can make the potty training experience more fun for you and your kiddo.

SHOW NOTES

Ask me all of your potty training questions in a 30 minute one-on-one coaching session for only $39! www.bit.ly/pottyconsult.

My Potty Training Made Easy course is your step-by-step guide to daytime potty training! www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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So, how do you discipline your child? How do you discipline your toddler?

Whenever you ask these questions to yourself or to your child’s pediatrician or to an expert I think what you’re really asking is…

How do I get my child to stop doing something that I don’t like?

and/or

How do I PUNISH my child to get him to stop doing whatever it is that I don’t like?

A lot of times in our world the word “discipline” is so closely connected to the word “punish,” and a lot of times in our own parenting thoughts we think that the best way to see improvements in behavior is by “disciplining” our children, by “punishing” them.

But today I’m going to urge you to take a new look at discipline, a more positive look at discipline… a look at discipline that can extend beyond the current moment that you’re facing. A new look at parenting that can not only improve your child’s behavior in whatever moment that you’re in - whether it be whining or tantrums or rough play or food on the floor - but that can also help you actually enjoy being a parent because, well, to be honest, you’re good at it… because you’re parenting your toddler beyond discipline and into this new way of looking at parenting.

So if you’re ready to see improvements in your toddler’s behavior and you’re ready to actually enjoy the process, buckle up. This is gonna be a fun show!

So how do you discipline your child? Great question! Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn discusses how we should first respond to our toddler’s unwanted behavior instead of immediately going to “discipline”;
She shares an example from her own parenting in how she taught important skills to her toddler instead of “punishing”; and
She provides numerous examples of how we can teach our toddlers in the moment instead of ineffectively disciplining them.

SHOW NOTES

For one-on-one help to step beyond the parenting method of ONLY discipling your toddler, schedule a 30 minute private coaching session with me for only $39 at www.bit.ly/behaviorsession.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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What to do when your young toddler drops food on the floor. So many parents go through this battle, and if you’re like me, you’re tired of having dirty floors around your child’s high chair.

So today on the show we are going to talk about why toddlers drop food on the floor and how you can respond in the moment to really teach them a more appropriate response.

Now on to what to do about our toddlers who throw food on the floor. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn discusses how it’s NOT about getting our kids to stop throwing food on the floor but instead having a more educational approach;
She shares what we need to ask ourselves regarding why this behavior is occurring; and
She explains how you should respond in the moment to really teach your child a more appropriate response.

SHOW NOTES

You have behavior questions? I have answers! Schedule a 30 minute one-on-one private coaching session with me for only $39 at www.bit.ly/behaviorsession.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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How to get your toddler to listen to you… that’s what we all want to know, right?

When it comes to delivering instructions to our little ones, there are a lot of easy BUT important things to keep in mind so that your toddler WILL actually listen to you.

It’s important to have a healthy balance of instructions or commands or demands that we deliver to our children mixed in with your typical transition statements like, “Okay, it’s time for lunch.”

So today on the show I’m going to walk you through this avenue of when to deliver instructions or demands to your child and, instead, when to just deliver an easy transition statement. And, as you know, effective communication is what can make parenting a heck of a lot easier.

Now let’s get on to communicating effectively with our children so they will listen, so we don’t waste our breath, and so parenting is, well, easier. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares why it’s important to have a healthy balance between delivering instructions and transition statements;
She explains when it’s best to deliver an instruction and when it may be a better idea to deliver transition statements; and
She shares what you can’t assume about your kids when it comes to communicating with them.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my Getting Your Child to Listen… The First Time live and on-demand class at www.bit.ly/listenclass.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Like you, my toddler will be starting 3 year-old preschool come Fall, and if we are being real with ourselves, that’s right around the corner.

Lots of preschools, schools, or daycares require children to be potty trained by a certain age, and that definitely puts some extra pressure and stress on us mamas.

So if you’re in the boat of needing to get your toddler potty trained ASAP for preschool or daycare come Fall, I’ve got your back. In today’s episode I’ll share with you the MOST important things you need to know about getting your toddler potty trained AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Now let’s get to potty training your toddler in a snap. It’s go-time. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains shares seven key pieces of potty training to help get your toddler potty trained in time for preschool;
She shares the most popular potty training issue that parents have and how you can overcome that with your child before it becomes a problem; and
She helps you get potty training started in a hurry!

SHOW NOTES

Grab my Potty Training Made Easy! Course at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy … my step-by-step guide to potty training.

Schedule a private one-on-one potty training coaching session with me at www.bit.ly/pottyconsult.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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What’s the first step in growing in your own parenting?

You know that parenting is hard, especially when you are the parent to a strong-willed toddler or a 3-year-old who doesn’t like to listen or to an 18 month old who is constantly whining or to a 2-year-old who is refusing to be potty trained. It can be mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting. I don’t discount that.

But sometimes in our parenting we may need to try new things: new parenting strategies to help that strong-willed toddler or a different method to potty training that 2-year-old or a specific way to communicate with your child so that he or she will actually listen.

Sometimes in our parenting, okay, a lot of times in our parenting, we see improvements in our child’s behavior or our home life because of the things we are doing differently… uh all of those parenting strategies that I swear by. But it can seem like a daunting task if you are only looking at all of the world’s problems that you need to solve within your own home. It doesn’t be that hard and that’s not really where I want you to start.

So today on the show I’m going to share with you on how you can EASILY boost your own parenting skills and that first baby step you should take to make your mama life a heck of a lot easier.

Now onto the easy thing you can do to boost your own parenting skills. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the first thing you should do to boost your own parenting skills;
She explains how you can find evidence about the goodness and truth of your own parenting; and
She gives examples from her own motherhood in how she has put this into practice.

SHOW NOTES

Schedule a private one-on-one coaching session with me at www.bit.ly/behaviorsession for expert advice and to pick my brain.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Nothing seems more difficult when it comes to potty training than when your toddler is fearful of potty training or is afraid of the potty. How do you even potty train a kiddo who won’t sit on the potty for 2 seconds... or at all?

Today on the show I’m going to talk about your child’s fear of the potty and what baby steps you can take to help your kiddo get over that fear so you can actually get on with potty training and ditch those diapers for good.

Let’s get on to getting over this fear of the potty so you can actually ditch the diapers. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the common ways that children are fearful of the potty or potty training;
She explains how you can help your child get over the fear of the big adult potty; and
She shares specific strategies you can use to help a child who is refusing potty training, even refusing to walk in the bathroom or sit on the potty.

SHOW NOTES

Come schedule a private one-on-one coaching session with me at www.bit.ly/pottyconsult.

Check out my new LIVE and ON-DEMAND potty training classes at www.bit.ly/behaviorclasses.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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It’s another behavior series episode here on The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast and today we are talking about our young kiddos, our toddlers who throw toys that shouldn’t typically be thrown.

And if you’re over there listening I know you’re thinking, “Yes, yes, my toddler does that. What do I do about that?” Well, mama dear, you’ve come to the right place.

Today on the show we’re going to talk about our toddlers who throw toys that shouldn’t typically be thrown and what you can do to 1) handle the situation when it does happen without making it worse and 2) (and I believe more importantly) prevent this behavior from happening long-term.

Now let’s get to talking about your kiddo who throws toys. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn outlines the specific reasons toddlers throw toys that they shouldn’t throw;
She explains what we need to keep in mind about our child’s development when it comes to this behavior; and
She shares specific things you can do to begin preventing this behavior from occurring long-term.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my new LIVE and ON-DEMAND behavior and parenting classes at www.bit.ly/behaviorclasses.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Wait, your toddler doesn’t listen to you either when you tell him to come here, pick up his toys, or grab his shoes?

I know, it’s incredibly frustrating to constantly be on repeat, repeat, repeat when it comes to telling your toddler to do something, even something so incredibly simple. Why does it have to be this hard, huh?

So today on the show I want to share the one thing you can do to get your toddler to listen to you, yes, even the first time.

Now let’s talk about what to do when your toddler doesn’t listen. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares the one thing you can do to get your child to begin listening to you;
She explains how by doing this one thing to get your child to listen to you, you will begin feeling confident in your parenting and actually enjoy spending time with your kids; and
She shares how this one area can help all aspects of parenting.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my Getting Your Child to Listen… The First Time Class at www.bit.ly/listenclass.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Okay, okay… potty training is hard enough, but how the heck do you go about potty training a kiddo who is in full-time daycare or preschool (or even part-time daycare or preschool)?

I know lots and lots of parents are faced with this challenge and you absolutely dread the thought of potty training because you have no idea how the heck it’s gonna go when your kiddo doesn’t get home until 5:00 or 6:00 PM or later each night, Monday through Friday.

You’re thinking, when am I gonna do potty training? How are we going to get through this?

It’s a lot to think about especially when you have a very busy schedule and limited time. So I’m here today to guide you through the potty training process especially if you’ve got a toddler who is out of the house and away from you full-time.

Now let me bring some potty training ease to your mind so you can stop fretting about when the heck you’re gonna potty train your kiddo with such limited time. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains how to start potty training if you have a child who is in full-time (or part-time) care;
She shares when you can transition and begin sending your child to daycare in underwear instead of diapers; and
She discusses how you can manage the back-and-forth between diapers and underwear when your child is not fully potty trained.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my how-to step-by-step course for potty training at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy. Don’t forget to sign up for my NEW live and on-demand potty training, parenting, and behavior classes at www.bit.ly/behaviorclasses.

Episode 110 - Potty Training & Daycare: What To Tell Them & What to Plan For: https://laura-lynn-lapointe.mykajabi.com/blog/110

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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A very common question that I’m frequently asked by the parents that I coach one-on-one regarding behavioral parenting strategies is whether their one year old, toddler, or young child actually understands the parenting strategies that they use. Hey, it’s a good question.

Are young children able to, in a sense, understand what is going on when we are using our parenting strategies of effectively communicating or using timers or providing choices?

So today on the show I want to dive into this question and explain how our young children learn and behave in response to our parenting strategies.

Now onto talking about our parenting strategies and whether or not our kids know what we are saying. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains how consistency and repetition is needed for our young children to know what these parenting strategies mean and how they should respond;
She shares that you can’t expect your parenting strategies to work the first time since your young child is learning what it means; and
She explains how she taught her own 15 month daughter to use the phrase “help me”.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my NEW live and on-demand parenting and behavior classes at www.bit.ly/behaviorclasses.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Welcome to another “is it normal” behavior series. Today on the show we are talking about whether or not it is normal for our toddlers to take toys without asking.

As a mama of a three year old and a 15 month old, this is a specific situation that I’m dealing with in my own household, so I get it and I feel you on this one.

But what I want to leave with you today are specific ways you can address this situation in the moment when it does happen and what you can do to begin teaching those good play skills. So important!

Okay, let’s talk about our toddlers who take toys without asking. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn talks about a child’s development to explain why toddlers take toys without asking;
She shares specific play strategies you can do NOW to begin teaching your child how to share and take turns; and
She explains how you can respond in the moment when your child does take toys without asking to use that opportunity as a teaching moment.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my NEW live and on-demand parenting and behavior classes at www.bit.ly/behaviorclasses.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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There’s nothing that seems worse than dealing with an unwanted behavior that you just can’t seem to get out of or away from. The best example that comes to mind are those toddler tantrums.

You want to make it stop. You want to get away from the negativity and the yelling and the tears and the whining and the fits and the everything, but it feels so dang hard and, frankly, you’re at your wits end.

It’s the nasty and negative behavior cycle. No mama likes to be in them but here we are, going through it every week, if not every single day (if we’re being completely honest with ourselves).

This negative behavior cycle leads you to feeling, well, negative, out of sorts, the complete opposite of confident, and like a crummy parent.

I don’t want you to feel that way. That’s why today on the show I’m going to give you the one question you should ask yourself if you’ve ever been stuck in one of these negative behavior cycles, which of course will lead you to feeling much more confident and help make your life ten times easier.

Now on to what to do when you’re stuck in one of those negative behavior cycles. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares what it looks like to be stuck in a negative behavior cycle;
She reveals the one question you should ask yourself and how this one question can make your parenting life ten times easier; and
She explains why having a parent arsenal of go-to strategies can save you from headaches and heartaches.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my NEW live and on-demand parenting and behavior classes at www.bit.ly/behaviorclasses.

Download my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop for three of my favorite go-to strategies at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Potty training is hard enough as is, but if you’ve got a kiddo who is in full-time daycare, it feels like the pressure is on. You’re thinking…

“When am I going to get this done?”

“How can I devote enough time to potty training my toddler when we are hardly together during daytime hours?”

“What do I need to tell my child’s teacher?”

“How do I go about doing potty training?”

“Will the transition to going potty at daycare be easy for my kiddo?”

It’s a lot to think about, and I don’t want you to be overly stressed or get yourself overwhelmed. So today on the show I’ll guide you through what you need to know about communicating with your child’s daycare about potty training and what sorts of things you can expect along the way.

Remember, it doesn’t always have to be as hard as we make it, so let’s bring back some ease to potty training. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares what to communicate to your child’s daycare before you begin potty training;
She explains when it’s a good time to send your toddler to daycare in underwear; and
She outlines what the potty training process can look like for a toddler who is in full-time daycare.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my Potty Training Made Easy course where I walk you through the step-by-step process of potty training that I swear by at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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It’s word to the wise on today’s episode about toddler behaviors, and here’s my not-so-secret parenting secret… pick your battles.

Think it sounds easy enough? Sometimes it’s not.

You’re worried that if you let a few things slide or if you let the wrong thing slide, then you’re creating a monster that can never come back under control.

So let me give you some ease here.

You can pick your battles when it comes to your toddler’s behavior. You shouldn’t be so incredibly forceful on everything. You can ease up a bit in some situations. And I want to give you some piece of mind today so you’re not constantly worried about toddlerhood.

Take a deep breath. You’ve got this.

Let’s get comfortable with picking your battles. Now onto the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares what battles you can let go of and what battles you should fight;
She outlines specific explains of battles she lets go of with her own toddler; and
She illustrates how you can choose which battles to let go of so you’re not wearing yourself too thin.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Who else hates being interrupted or talked over?

I know you feel me here with having toddlers in your own household. Being interrupted, especially when you’re trying to have adult conversation, is likely a given for you, and it’s a behavior that drives me absolutely bonkers.

So today on the show let’s talk about this interrupting behavior and what we can do to get a handle on the interrupts so we all don’t go mad.

Let’s go to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares what toddler interruptions look like in her own household;
She explains why toddlers interrupt adult conversations; and
She shares specific strategies you can use to begin minimizing these toddler interruptions.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Oh technology.

Every toddler loves their parent’s phone and every parent hates the tantrums that follow the removal of that beloved piece of technology.

As a mama I feel the burden too of telling my kid it’s time to turn off his show and do something else. The tantrums that follow aren’t fun, we can all admit, but with the right strategies we may find that it’s a heck of a lot easier for our kids to deal with the removal of those pieces of technology that they oh so love, which of course will be nice for us.

So today on the show we’ll chat all about toddlers, technology, and tantrums and I’ll share some key strategies to help make the removal of technology easier for both you and your kiddo.

Now let’s head to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares how much screen time a toddler can have;
She explains why toddlers have tantrums following the removal of screen time; and
She outlines specific strategies for transitioning children away from screens when technology time is over to help reduce the likelihood of tantrums.

SHOW NOTES

Sign up for the Confident Mama Vault waitlist at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/waitlist to learn the best parenting strategies for preventing unwanted behaviors.

Read an article on screen time recommendations here.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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We talk all the time about potty training, about what you should do, about how you should go about doing it, about important things to remember. And yes, here on the podcast we’ve talked about when you SHOULD begin potty training… about those ever important signs of readiness.

But today on the show I want to talk about when you should NOT begin potty training your toddler. There are some very important factors to consider when trying to decide if now is the right time to potty train your toddler, and I don’t want you to glaze over these important details, even though they seem insignificant.

There are definitely some times that you should NOT begin potty training. If you do jump into potty training during these times, well, it may not turn out very well for you and your toddler, and then the dreaded potty training takes longer than anyone would ever want.

You don’t want to wear those shoes. Let’s go to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares important situations and factors during which you should NOT begin potty training;
She explains why you do NOT want to begin potty training during those times; and
She talks about when you should wait to potty train when it comes to your child’s poop.

SHOW NOTES

Download my FREE 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie to set your potty training journey for success!

Check out my Potty Training Made Easy course where I walk you through the step-by-step process to potty training at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

Listen to Episode 101 How To Know If Your Child is Ready for Potty Training at https://laura-lynn-lapointe.mykajabi.com/blog/101

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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One of the most common questions and concerns that parents have asked me is whether or not their kiddo will understand that his or her unwanted behavior is not okay when the parent “ignores” the unwanted behavior or does not provide direct attention to that unwanted behavior.

Do you believe that your child will understand that his or her behavior is not okay when you respond without using words?

So today I’m diving into this question about whether or not your kiddo understands that his or her behavior is not okay and I’ll share how not providing direct attention to that unwanted behavior is, indeed, still parenting, even if your entire world has told you that it’s not.

Let’s head to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares when you are likely to use the strategy of “ignoring” or not providing direct attention to unwanted behavior to help address that behavior;
She illustrates that not providing direct attention to unwanted behavior is not negative parenting but it’s parenting in a different way without using words; and
She provides specific real-life examples from parenting her own toddler on how planned ignoring can work.

SHOW NOTES

Join the waitlist for the Confident Mama Vault at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/waitlist to learn the foundation of parenting and the principles of behavior so that you can parent in ease!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Whether we like to admit it or not and whether we talk with others about our own emotions or not, we DO experience some type of emotion when our child acts out in front of our friends… or strangers… or family members… or anyone really.

And sure, no mom likes or enjoys when their toddler misbehaves, whether that’s in public or in the privacy of your own home, but when those misbehaviors occur when our friends or any others are present, there’s a greater intensity to the stress that we may feel in response to those misbehaviors. Speaking from experience here.

So today I want to talk about how we can better handle our emotions and our thoughts when our children misbehave because it will happen.

Your children will misbehave in front of your friends. They may misbehave in front of their teacher or daycare staff. They may misbehave in front of your pastor. They may misbehave in front of your doctor. They may misbehave in front of anyone and everyone, so let’s talk about some specific ways you can better prepare and handle your own feelings and emotions when the situation does arise.

Now onto handling our own emotions when our children misbehave in front of others. Let’s go to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares her own experience from when her toddler acted out during a playdate and how she handled her own emotions;
She explains the specific areas you need to evaluate and think about when your child does misbehave in front of others so that you can better handle your thoughts and feelings; and
She shares how understanding behavior can help keep your mama mind right on track.

SHOW NOTES

Join the waitlist for the Confident Mama Vault at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/waitlist to learn the foundation of parenting and the principles of behavior so that you can parent in ease!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Is it normal for your child to cry?

Good question, isn’t it? Because as busy mamas who are being pulled in a thousand different directions, adding crying on top of everything else just makes life so dang overwhelming.

To be honest, crying is the thing that takes me over the edge, especially when I’m tired, when I’m doing too many things at once, and when I just need a dang break.

But instead of getting our panties all in a wad because of the crying, I think it would do us a world of good if we did a little history lesson regarding crying and why our children do it. Because, as you know, when we have the back story, when we have the knowledge that we need to put a situation in perspective, motherhood, parenting, and home life is so much easier… which means our panties aren’t in a wad as much… which means we get to move throughout our day in ease and with patience.

Yeah, I could use a little dose of that today.

Today, let’s talk about your child’s crying so you’re not the one left crying. Let’s head to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn highlights the history of your child’s crying so you can put the behavior in perspective;
She explains what you should do in response to your child’s crying so that you’re teaching your child a more appropriate way to communicate; and
She shares a real life example of her own toddler’s crying and how she responds.

SHOW NOTES

Join the waitlist for the Confident Mama Vault at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/waitlist to learn about tons of preventative strategies and to snag the best vault prices and bonuses!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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What do you do when you don’t know why your child is throwing a tantrum or whining or hitting his sibling?

Maybe you’ve never thought about it. Maybe you’ve never thought it was important to know why your child is doing a specific behavior. Maybe you think that knowing the reason for why your child is doing what she’s doing isn’t going to change anything with how you respond.

If you’ve been hanging around the Parenting Clubhouse Podcast you know that I talk frequently about the different reasons for why a child does a behavior and then how to respond accordingly based on why your child is throwing a fit or whining or hitting his sister.

But today on the show I want to talk about what you should do when you don’t know the why… when you may have no idea why your toddler is laying out on the floor right now with legs kicking and arms swinging.

Even if we don’t know or can’t quite figure out the “why” behind the behavior, there are still a certain number of things you can and should do to make your life easier both now and later down the road.

So, if there’s ever a situation with your child that you just can’t quite figure out, all hope is not lost. There are still plenty of smart and science-based strategies that you can use in the moment.

Now let’s get to chatting about what to do when you don’t know what to do. Let’s go to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn illustrates that in parenthood... with millions of moving parts in any given moment, it’s not always easy to figure out why your child is behaving a certain way, but all hope is not lost;
She reviews the best practice strategies you can follow to help with your child’s behavior regardless if you know why your child is behaving that way; and
She shares her favorite best practice go-to strategy that you can easily begin implementing today to make you a more effective and happier parent.

SHOW NOTES

Join the waitlist for the Confident Mama Vault at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/waitlist to snag the best vault prices and bonuses!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Back in Episode 85 I talked about why I waited to potty train and really dove into you as a parent being mentally and physically prepared for potty training, and honestly, that’s important, and I will argue that it’s just as important as your kid being ready for potty training.

But, I don’t want to gloss over your own child’s readiness because they also need to be ready… or ready enough… for potty training. And if they aren’t ready, well, it’s likely to turn into a major headache for you and potentially some difficulties for them later on when it is actually go-time for them for potty training.

So today on the show, we’re going to chat about the typical signs of potty training readiness and other important factors to consider to help determine if your child is actually ready.

Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn reviews the typical signs of potty training readiness so you can begin looking out to see when your child is physically ready for potty training;
She shows you the misleading factor to NOT focus on when determining if your child is ready for potty training; and
She shares other really important behavioral factors that parents should consider when determining go-time for potty training so that you’re not pulling out your hair during the potty training process.

SHOW NOTES

Join the waitlist for the Confident Mama Vault at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/waitlist to snag the best vault prices and bonuses!

5 Secrets to Potty Training Success Freebie: www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie

Potty Training Made Easy Course: www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy

Episode 85: Why I Waited to Potty Train & Why You Should Too https://laura-lynn-lapointe.mykajabi.com/blog/85

Average age of potty training: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/toilettraining

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Wow! One hundred episodes of this podcast! I’m just blown away.

To make this 100th episode extra special, I’m not only sharing about my own parenting dream but am also announcing the Confident Mama Vault.

Jump on the waitlist for the Confident Mama Vault at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/waitlist to score the biggest deals and best bonuses of the Vault. And, of course, it’s completely FREE to hop on the waitlist as you await more announcements about the Confident Mama Vault. Don’t miss out!

Alright, let’s get on to dreaming. Let’s go to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Knowledge is power! Laura Lynn shares about her philosophy of parenthood and how that philosophy can make your parenting life easier;
She announces the CONFIDENT MAMA VAULT, your go-to, one-stop-behavior-shop (aka VAULT) where you can get all of your parenting resources in one quick and easy place so you can ditch the guesswork and feel confident in your parenthood; and
She challenges you to begin reflecting about your own parenting dream and begin taking steps today toward that dream.

SHOW NOTES

Join the VIP waitlist for the Confident Mama Vault at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/waitlist to snag the best vault prices and bonuses!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Do you have a toddler who plays rough?

Yeeees, I’m raising my hand too, here.

It’s challenging, isn’t it?

So today on the show let’s talk about rough play: what it looks like, why kids do it, if it’s normal, and how we should respond when it happens.

Plus, I’ll share with you about my own reality check as a mama when it comes to understanding my own child’s behavior and why he’s doing what he’s doing. Humbling yes, but I need to share it with you because I know that you may need that reality check, too.

Let's head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains the different reasons for why a child may play rough and shares whether or not rough play is developmentally appropriate;
She shares how you can address the rough play before it happens and how to respond when it does happen; and
She shares how she has processed her own toddler’s rough play and how she has managed it moving forward.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie to learn three easy parenting strategies to prevent typical toddler behaviors.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Praise, praise praise.

You hear it talked about in the positive parenting world, you hear it talked about at your child’s daycare, you hear it talked about from your child’s pediatrician, and you hear it talked about in the online space as a way to prevent unwanted behavior and reduce the likelihood of those unwanted behaviors.

And you’re probably wondering, “okay, even if praise DOES work, won’t I be spoiling my kid with all of this praise? Won’t they rely on it and not be able to cope if they DON’T have it? Won’t they become prideful and self-righteous as they age and mature? I don’t want my kid to be the kid that always NEEDS to earn a ribbon, a prize, or a reward.”

These are the thoughts and questions that we think to ourselves as we’re lying in bed at night, but we rarely speak them to another human being. So today on the show I’m going there. I’m answering those questions that you contemplate deep at night or while between feeding the kids and doing the dishes.

Let’s talk about what praise really is and how it can affect our kids. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains how praise can be used to increase desirable behaviors and manage unwanted behaviors;
She shares how using praise in her own home with her family has created a positive environment; and
She answers the ever-important question “Will all this praise spoil my kids?” so you can feel confident in using praise with your family.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie to learn three easy parenting strategies to prevent those typical toddler behaviors.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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You’re a mama of a toddler and you’ve heard it many times before… redirect, redirect, redirect. So, what does redirect really mean and how do you know if you’re using it effectively?

Because toddlers can be so all-over-the-place with their actions and emotions, the simple positive strategy of redirection is gold in the toddler years.

So today on the show let’s chip into that gold to better understand this strategy of redirection: what it is, when to use it, how to use it, and why we use it, and, of course, I’ll share some personal examples from my own parenting of toddlers to help make things a bit more clear.

If you’re unsure about redirection as an effective strategy, this episode is for you. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn explains what redirection is and why we use it with toddlers;
She illustrates how to use redirection so it is as effective as possible with those typical toddler behaviors; and
She shares her own personal examples of using redirection with her toddler to show how easy and effective redirection can be.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie to learn three easy parenting strategies to prevent those typical toddler behaviors.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Does your toddler hit you or has your child ever hit you?

It doesn’t make your child bad, and it doesn’t make you a bad parent. But maybe your child is a bit young and he or she hasn’t hit you yet. Expect that eventually it will happen.

Maybe you’re thinking, “No way. Not my precious sweet baby. She’ll never hit me.” Listen, it’s likely to happen, and it’s okay. Why? Because children are constantly growing and learning and figuring their little worlds out, and hitting is just a typical toddler and child behavior that gets thrown into the mix.

But that doesn’t mean it has to last long, it doesn’t mean it has to continue, and it doesn’t mean that you just let it happen. However, if you respond in a way that encourages the behavior, you’ll likely see it happen again and again and then it’s a bigger problem for you to deal with.

So in this episode I’ll tell you exactly how I handle the toddler hitting in my household and how it’s a proven strategy for us… yep, hitting rarely happens in our house. Plus, you’ll get the insider view to why kids could hit in the first place and how you should respond.

Now, let’s figure out about this hitting, huh? Let’s go to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn discusses when hitting is considered normal and when hitting is considered not normal in toddlerhood;
She explains the four reasons why a chit may hit so you can better understand why your child is doing this unwanted behavior; and
She shares what you should do and how you should respond to the hitting so you’re not making it worse.

SHOW NOTES

Jump on a free Clarity Call with me at www.bit.ly/claritycallwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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You know I love supporting you with potty training, and because I potty trained my own toddler late summer just this past year, all of the questions of how to potty trained are freshly on my mind.

And, because it’s winter and most people are stuck inside during these cold months (and we’re still in the midst of a pandemic), I’m seeing a lot of parents like you asking the typical potty training questions.

Should I wait until my child is older?

Should I let him do it on his own time?

Is it a good or bad idea to push potty training?

There could be a million potty training questions that boils down to HOW-TO POTTY TRAIN.

Today, I want to answer one of those very common potty training questions: should I follow a potty training schedule or should I let it come naturally?

I’ll talk about the difference between both of those options, all of the options in between, and give you some answers for why I followed a potty training schedule… I’m a big fan of following a schedule and I’ll tell you exactly why.

Now let’s talk about those potty training schedules. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn discusses the differences between potty training methods that do and do not use schedules;
She explains why following a potty training schedule makes potty training easier for parents; and
She shares her reasons of science and biology for doing the schedule method route.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my Potty Training Made Easy course where I walk you through the step-by-step process of potty training at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Welcome to January and welcome to 2021 on The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast!

Today on the show I want to talk about parenting goals because it is the season for all things goal-oriented. It’s January. It’s the new year. And lots of us, if not most of us, have at least thought about if not actually taken steps and planned out goals for ourselves for the new year.

And because I’m here to support you in your own parenting journey, I want to talk about these goals you’ve set for yourself, especially as they relate to parenting.

If you’ve set out to accomplish a parenting goal (or again, any goal for that matter), I want to teach you how to actually keep that goal and crush that goal. And even if you aren’t setting a parenting goal for yourself right now, this episode will still be very usual for you because the tips I’m chatting about today apply to any type of goal, parenting or not.

Now let’s go crush our goals. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares why it’s important to create a smart goal so that you can create the life you have envisioned;
She shares how to set smart and effective goals so that you’re not jumping ship come February; and
She gives examples of different types of parenting goals that you can start with today.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Christmas has come and gone and we are about to ring in the new year of 2021. What a great time it is to sit and reflect on all that has happened these past 12 months and what’s to come in the year ahead.

Today on the show I want to reflect and share with you about my own biggest parenting take away from 2020 and give you a little sneak peek into what’s to come for The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast and Laura Lynn LaPointe LLC (also known as how I serve you in the online space) for 2021.

And it goes without saying that I’m sharing all of this with you in the hopes to inspire, motivate, and support you in your own parenting journey so that you can be the confident, happy, and fulfilled mama that you truly desire to be.

Okay, let’s dive in. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares all that has happened in life and in business in 2020, including welcoming a new baby and parenting two children under the age of two;
She shares her biggest parenting takeaway and how that has helped her in all areas of her life, including her personal life, marriage, business, and parenting; and
She inspires you to reflect on this past year in your own personal and parenting life and how that reflection will help shape your upcoming year.

SHOW NOTES

Check out my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success freebie at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie.

Visit the Potty Training Made Easy course and support options at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

Stay up to date with all that’s happening at www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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The year of 2020, the year that history books will talk about and reference, will be wrapping up here shortly… thank goodness, right?

And here you are as a mama and as a parent thinking about the new year, thinking about 2021, thinking about how you want the upcoming year to look and who you really want to be.

For a lot of us, myself included, we are focusing on simplifying our lives somehow. Getting organized. Cleaning out the stuffed closet and the dresser drawers that won’t open. Creating and following a daily schedule. Creating routine so we will actually stick to our exercise program. We want life to be more simple. We want life to be easier.

So today on the show I am sharing with you the #1 thing that makes parenting easier.

It’ll make parenting easier in terms of actual application… in being a parent and managing your kids. It’ll make parenting easier in terms of your own mama mindset… time to get rid of that negativity and enjoy being a parent again. And it’ll help create ease in parenting both now AND in the future.

It’s time to make parenting easier for a change. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares how to get out of that ugly and easy cycle of negativity surrounding your child’s unwanted behaviors;
She shares how to catch the good behaviors in your child and how to find them even if you don’t see them; and
She teaches you how to make lasting change in your daily life so you’re not always stuck and surrounded by negativity and inappropriate behavior.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Tis the season for receiving gifts, giving thanks, and showing gratitude. And if you’re a mama who has toddlers and older kids, the thought of how your children will respond when they receive a gift that they don’t like may terrify you.

Kids receive gifts throughout the entire month of December... at daycare, at school, at Christmas parties, with extended family, and, of course, with you on Christmas Day, so there’s plenty of opportunity for your kids to respond to receiving a gift.

While we definitely prefer that our kids receive a gift they like and will use, that is not always the case (cue the ugly Christmas outfit). Inevitably, at a young age, they will be confronted with the situation of what to do and how to respond when they receive something they don’t like.

And you, mama, will be confronted with a similar situation of watching your kid respond terribly to receiving an unwanted gift. Yikes!

So today on the show I want us to talk about our potentially ungrateful kids, what we can do beforehand so they aren’t embarrassing us in public or in front of family members, and how we can teach our children to be grateful in these situations.

Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares examples from her own childhood about how she appropriately and inappropriately received gifts;
She illustrates how you can begin teaching your children to receive gifts appropriately by infusing easy habits into your daily life; and
She shares the direct process for teaching your child to receive gifts gratefully.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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I still can’t believe that we are into December and now very quickly approaching Christmas season... 2020 has gone by so slow and yet so dang fast!

But today on the show I want us to chat about the stress that we get ourselves into throughout the holiday season, and more importantly, how we can manage that stress and keep our parenting sanity in the midst of it.

Because here’s the deal. Life doesn’t have to be full of stress and anxiety.

So let’s throw off that parenting and holiday stress and actually enjoy the holiday season, shall we? Let’s go to the show!

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares how you can manage your holiday stress while being a parent AND an individual;
She illustrates key strategies to help your kids cope with the holiday craziness; and
She shares how most holiday “obligations” aren’t true obligations that we have to abide by.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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The holiday season is truly upon us now and you may already be planning what to do with your spare time over Christmas break.

And if you’ve got a toddler around the 2-3 age range, maybe you’re considering potty training during this extra time that you’re spending at home. It makes sense. Potty training does take some extra time and having the time at home with your toddler really is needed for those first few days of potty training.

So today on the show I want to help you solve the debate on whether NOW, the break you may get within the holiday season, is the best time for you to potty train your toddler.

Now let’s dive into how to know if now is the best time to potty train. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares two necessary prerequisites before you even consider if the holiday break is a good time to potty training your toddler;
She illustrates why now may be or may NOT be a good time to potty train; and
She shares what you need to have a successful potty training experience, regardless of whether or not you potty train over the holidays.

SHOW NOTES

Check out the step-by-step and how-to guide of potty training in the Potty Training Made Easy Course at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Regret free parenting…. That’s something that we all want, right? No one wants to have regrets in any part of their life but when it comes to parenting, the desire to have regret free parenting is a heck of a lot stronger.

But here’s the thing. We may not even know or be conscious of the fact that we actually DO want regret free parenting. And if you’re like me or any other mama of a toddler, our daily actions can leave us feeling like we are not enough, we didn’t do enough, or that we didn’t handle a situation the best that we possibly could have. And thus, those tiny small regrets start creeping into our mind and heart, and that crud adds up over time. Not fun.

So today let’s talk about one hack to get us to living this regret free parenting lifestyle…

so that we can feel confident in our parenting…

So that we can feel content in our decisions as mamas…

So that we can look back at the end of the day and not feel like we didn’t do enough or didn’t say enough, and instead, we can look back at the end of the day and say, “Yeah, I was a heck of a mama today. I was the exact mama that my kids needed today, even if I wasn’t perfect, even if I didn’t get everything done that I wanted to get done, even if I did get frustrated a time or two. But I was a heck of a mom today, and for that I’m proud.”

Now let’s go create that feeling today.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn illustrates how you can have regret free parenting;
She shares how she has invested in her own personal life and in parenting, and how those investments have been fruitful for her; and
She prompts you to journal and reflect on your own life about what it would look like and feel like to have the support you need.

SHOW NOTES

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Hey mamas! We are back with another episode of the “is it normal” series, and today’s topic is a good one because it’s not really talked about very much.

So let me ask you, does your child, does your toddler, play alone in his or her room? Or it could be in the living room or the kitchen, but does your child play alone?

And if your answer to that question is “no,” in this episode I’ll give you some specific pointers on what you can do to get your kiddo to begin playing alone.

Playing alone is an important topic because we are left feeling like we need to be there for our kids when our kids need us, yet, it’s also incredibly important for them to have independence, even within their playtime.

Now let’s talk about getting your child to play alone. Let’s head to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn highlights the expectations we need to have when it comes to our children playing alone;
She shares how you can begin teaching your young children to play by themselves before playing alone becomes an issue; and
She reveals specific strategies you can begin using now to get your child to play by him or herself.

SHOW NOTES

Grab your 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop freebie at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Let’s talk about getting mad at unwanted behavior because, let’s be honest, we all do it whether we want to admit it or not. And “getting mad” can be defined in a thousand different ways but that’s a conversation for another episode.

Today, I’m all about bringing perspective to your mama head and heart when it comes to your toddler’s unwanted behavior. Because, we do all get mad or frustrated or irritated or annoyed. Throw whatever negative adjective in that description and I know at least one of you is feeling that. You’re not alone.

But we get mad at our kid’s unwanted behavior, whether that be whining or fits in public or not following directions or talking back or being sassy, and we are all fed up with it. We all don’t like it. We all want it to stop. But we are just mad and we get mad. So today, let’s talk about what you can do instead of getting mad, and part of the solution isn’t going to be what you think.

Okay, let’s talk about getting mad at unwanted behavior…. Well, for the purposes of figuring out what to do instead. Let’s go to the show.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Laura Lynn shares how just fixing your child’s unwanted behavior isn’t going to solve all of your parenting problems;
She illustrates three ways that you can take perspective when you’re fed up with your child’s unwanted behaviors; and
She shares what you can do in the moment when you find yourself mad at your child’s behavior.

SHOW NOTES

Grab your 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop freebie at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Today we are talking about potty training, but it’s not your typical potty training chat. I’m sharing why I waited to start potty training my toddler… he was over two years old but not quite 2.5…. And I’m sharing what potty training looked like for us day in and day out: how much time we devoted to potty training per day, why on certain days we didn’t potty train very much, why we took an entire day off from potty training, and a bunch of other juicy details.

And I’m sharing all of these details with you because 1) I want to show you that not everyone’s potty training journey is spotless (even mine) and 2) I want to show you how I’m a real human being, how I allowed myself to be a real human being who has needs to be met, and how you can allow yourself to be human and give yourself some slack.

So enough of all of this potty training pressure. Yes, I’m giving you permission to do you, mama!

Alright, now on to me being human and sharing my potty training journey with my toddler. Let’s go to the show.

In this episode:

Laura Lynn shares specific details on her potty training journey with her toddler;
She illustrates key ways to set YOURSELF up for success during potty training; and
She shares the factors that were influencing her on whether or not to start potty training, including guilt, comparison, and a bit of science.

SHOW NOTES

Grab your 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie.

Check out my Potty Training Made Easy! Course, where I walk you through the step-by-step process of potty training at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Okay, I am so pumped about today’s episode because I truly believe that parenting is ten times easier, yes EASIER, when we have the tools and the support we need to make parenting easier, to make raising our toddlers and our older kids easier, to make supporting a family easier.

And one of the key pieces in my parenting that has saved me time and again from an almost fall out tantrum in public or a battle of the wills that I didn’t really want to fight was having and using very specific, yet very easy, key phrases to help rein potential toddler behavior in.

And when parents ask me, “How do you do it?” “How do you have such well behaved kids?” My gut answer is these go-to phrases that I use consistently time and again. I know that it sounds crazy that just a few simple phrases can make a world of difference, but it’s not crazy and trust me, they do make a world of difference. So today we are talking about the go-to phrases that you will hear on repeat at my house because, well, they work like a charm!

I’m itching to get chatting about my go-to key phrases, so let’s talk about them. Let’s head to the show.

In this episode:

Laura Lynn shares 3 specific go-to phrases that she uses in her own home to prevent unwanted behaviors in her toddler;
She illustrates an overarching theme that influences any go-to phrases you may use in your own home; and
She shares how to practically use these new phrases so that they can work for you.

SHOW NOTES

Grab your 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

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What a timely episode we have today on the show. Is it normal for my kid to whine?

You are not alone in the dealing with whining category. If you haven’t heard on previous episodes, it is whining central with our toddler in our household, and I’ll also tell you that whining is one of the behavior that eats at me: it drives me crazy, it gets under my skin, it makes me roll my eyes, and yes, sometimes it even makes me laugh because the reason why my 2.5 year-old is whining is so ridiculous.

So today on the show we are talking about all things whining: why our kids do it, why it drives us bonkers, and how on earth to fix it.

Seriously, if you’ve got a toddler or work with toddlers or interact with any toddlers, this is your episode. Give it a listen because you WILL face whining. And hint, yes, it’s normal, but that doesn’t mean we should just put up with it.

For some quick strategies to help with whining, check out my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

And just a reminder, for those of you with whining toddlers who also are thinking about potty training soon, I’m giving away 5 free 25-min potty training success assessment calls to help you determine if your child is actually READY to be potty trained. Be done with second guessing if your kid is ready to take the plunge. Jump on a call with me to talk it about and review those signs of readiness to see if it’s time to jump into potty training. You can go and sign up for your free spot at www.bit.ly/ptsuccesscall and let’s make your potty training life easier from the get-go.

Alright, now onto the real reason you’re here. Let’s talk about whining. Let’s go to the show.

Let’s connect!

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Boy, are you in for a treat today! I’ve had guests on the show before but it’s been quite a while since I’ve had another. Today on the show we are talking about the potty training method I used to potty train my almost two-and-a-half year-old son, but I didn’t potty train alone. My husband, Michael, was a big help and helped out with potty training on the weekends and when he wasn’t at work. So, of course, the guest on the show today is no one other than my husband, Michael.

For those of you who know me and my husband, you’re probably laughing because you know that with both of us on the show, this is going to be a pretty interesting episode. And for those of you who don’t know Michael, you will very quickly learn that Michael is a jokester, the sarcastic one, and the funny guy, while I lean more on the serious side of things…. Which you have probably already figured out. But the reason I’m having Michael on the show is because I wanted him to share his perspective on the potty training method we used, which is the exact potty training method that I go through step-by-step in my Potty Training Made Easy course (which you can find at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy). And the reason why I wanted him to share his perspective of our journey is because, while I can talk all day and every day about potty training as a parent coach, a mama, and a behavior analyst, I wanted you all to hear the thoughts, feelings, and opinions about potty training from a dad, from someone who knew nothing about potty training prior to the day we started potty training John Paul, and really, a lay person in the behavior world.

But before we dive in and I let Michael introduce himself, I want you to know that in the month of October, I am giving away 5 free 25-min potty training success assessment calls to determine if your child is actually READY to be potty trained. This idea of your child being READY for potty training is really the very first point of stress for all parents who are about to begin potty training because, who wants to jump into potty training if your kid isn’t actually ready. Me…. no thanks! So in the call we’ll talk about the signs of readiness and evaluate if your kiddo is ready for potty training. It’ll be fun, it’ll be easy, and it’ll give you an extra bit of support before you actually jump into potty training. Go sign up for your free spot at www.bit.ly/ptsuccesscall.

In the show Michael shares his perspective on the potty training method that we used, what was difficult, what was surprising, and the value he saw in it.

And I, of course, share the nuts and bolts of what our potty training journey looked like, how you can work with me one-on-one (www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn), and the personal value I see in using this potty training method.

Please subscribe to the podcast, leave a review (it really, really helps), and sign up for that free potty training success call at www.bit.ly/ptsuccesscall.

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How to avoid this common parenting pitfall. What is the common parenting pitfall? Seriously, what do you think it is? It’s a BIG one, and if we keep it in check, our parenting life can be a heck of a lot easier, but if we leave it unchecked, we’ve just made our lives ten times harder, and unnecessarily. So let’s talk about our right AND wrong expectations of our kids, shall we?!

And be sure to sign up for one of my FREE parenting strategy sessions so I can help you for FREE to prevent some of those pesky behaviors… like that whining. Go and sign up at www.bit.ly/parentingstrategysession.

Now let’s get to those expectations. Let’s go to the show.

In our parenting we want to have the right expectations. We want to understand that children are children and they are still learning and still growing. They don’t have everything figured out. They are going to make mistakes.

And it’s important for us to realize that there will be different phases and seasons that our kids are going through.

My kid is in a whining and crying phase right now. I’ve accepted it. I’ve acknowledged it. But just because I’ve accepted and acknowledged it doesn't mean that I’m not being proactive in preventing it or minimizing the whining. My husband and I are doing those things. But at the end of the day we know and understand that this is the phase we are in, this is the season we are in. We are in the toddler phase.

But our wrong expectations, it’s these expectations that get us in trouble. It’s these expectations that are the pitfall in our parenting.

Because when we believe that our kids should be perfect, that our kids should never throw a fit, that they should follow our directions 100% of the time, that’s when we get into trouble. That’s when parenting is ten times more difficult…. And it’s difficult because of these lies that we’ve been telling ourselves.

These wrong expectations create for us a misunderstanding of how our little people should be behaving. They create for us a false reality. So when we have expectations that are not based on reality, it’s like we are living in a fantasy world or lala land.

Kids are going to throw fits. They will cry. They will do what they can to get their way. They will disobey you from time to time. They will stray away from the routine or not follow your directions. They will pee their pants even though they’ve been fully potty trained.

Instead of getting utterly frustrated that your toddler is whining yet again because he can’t watch Paw Patrol or he’s throwing a fit because we have to do something else before snack time, accept the situation for what it is and then proceed forward.

So how do we change these wrong expectations to the right ones? We need to change our thoughts, our perceptions about what is actually occurring with us and with our kids.

If you need help with knowing what our true expectations of our children should be, sign up for a free parenting strategy session at www.bit.ly/parentingstrategysession. I also provide support to parents by analyzing their expectations of their own parenting and their child’s behavior in the one-on-one support I offer parents. You can learn more about that at www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn.

To close, analyze your own thoughts surrounding your child’s behaviors. What are your expectations? Are they accurate? Are they right? Or are they a little bit off from reality? Bring truth to them and remind yourself of those truths, especially during those moments of frustration.

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Hello, hello! Thank you for joining me on another episode of The Parenting Clubhouse podcast. I really am so happy that you’re here.

So let’s get right to it. What would it take for you to create the parenting life or family life you’ve always imagined? Big question isn’t it? I’ll ask it again. What would it take for you to create the parenting life or family life you’ve always imagined?

Today we are diving in deep to this question because I am on a mission to help you create that parenting life or that family life that you imagined. I WANT you to have that. And you deserve to have it. You can be happy in your parenting. You can enjoy your parenting life. I want you to find joy in your children again. I want you to have ease and certainty and confidence back in your parenting. Because when you have that, when you have that joy in your parenting, that’s when life changes. That's even when your kiddo’s behavior can change. So let’s dive in, shall we?

If you’ve listened to my previous episodes you heard that I’m giving away 5 free parenting strategy sessions. It’s true, and it’s still going on! Go and sign up for one of those free spots at www.bit.ly/parentingstrategysession.

Okay, let’s talk about how we can find that joy in our parenting.

So what would it take? What would it take to help you create the parenting life or the family life you have imagined?

That question assumes that your parenting life isn’t perfect, right? And really no one’s parenting life or family life is perfect.

Maybe parenting has gotten to be too hard. Maybe it’s too much of a burden, whether that be a physical burden or a mental burden. Parenting is downright taxing. And when you feel stuck or you feel tired or you feel frustrated, that load feels heavier and heavier.

Maybe you’re just uncertain. Uncertain if you’re doing it right. Wondering if you’re screwing up your kids. Wavering in your confidence. You want to be a good parent, and you want to be the best parent for your kids, but maybe you don’t know how to become that parent.

So what would it take? What would it take to help you get to that place that you want to be?

It’s support.

Just as if you are struggling in your marriage, you’d go to a marriage counselor. Just as if you are uncertain in your business, you’d hire a business coach. Just as if you want to look and feel physically healthier, you’d hire a personal trainer. Just as if you are dealing with something emotionally, you’d go to a counselor.

So, too, in our parenting.

When we need help in our parenting, we seek out support.

What all of these people who seek out help and assistance have in common is the philosophy that it’s easier to do it together than alone. It’s easier when you have the specific support you need.

It’s easier to lose weight when you’ve got a trainer pushing you and encouraging you on. It’s easier to see improvements in your marriage when you’re working with a marriage counselor. And it’s definitely possible to see improvements in your parenting (and even in your child’s behavior) when you work with a parent coach.

But a lot of us, we shy away from seeking that type of support, that one-on-one support.

You want to see improvements in your parenting life and your family life? Doing the same things over and over again aren’t going to produce the results you want to see. It hasn’t worked in the past so what makes us think that they will work now?

It’s a heck of a lot easier to make those changes when we have support guiding us and walking us through it.

Go grab your free parenting strategy session with me at www.bit.ly/parentingstrategysession so you can begin experiencing this type of support.

It’s a no brainer. Ditch the parenting confusion and overwhelm. You are the expert on your child. I’m the expert on behavior. So you do you, be your child’s mom. Be your child’s dad. And I’ll do me. Parent coach with loads of behavior thrown in. And when we bring the two together, the parenting and behavior support + your personal relationship and experience with your child, then magic can happen.

Start your parenting support journey for free. Sign up for that free parenting strategy session at www.bit.ly/parentingstrategysession so I can help you manage an unwanted behavior and give you some of that behavior support.

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Hey there! I’m so excited to be talking to you about potty training today because I just potty trained my almost 2.5 year-old, and wowza! I’ve got a million and a half things to say about potty training. So in this episode I’m sharing my thoughts and opinions about potty training with clothes or with no clothes. If you’ve been on the internet or on social media searching about how to potty train, you probably noticed that there are some parents out there who are 100% in support of potty training naked. And you probably also noticed that there are some parents who go the clothes route. And the philosophies of each of those groups are really interesting. So what are you more aligned with? Potty training with clothes or potty training without clothes? And I’ll definitely be sharing how I potty train kids, with clothes or without, and my reason why.

And as a reminder, if you live in Alabama and want to know what it feels like to work with a professional, get some new parenting ideas and strategies, and step your parenting up a notch, I’m giving away 5 free parenting strategy sessions to help you get a hold of an unwanted behavior! Go and sign up for one of those free spots at www.bit.ly/parentingstrategysession.

And if you’re ready to put the pedal to the metal and get a jumpstart on potty training your toddler (and of course if you live in Alabama), know that I offer 1:1 virtual support for potty training. Yep, I walk you through the strategies I use to potty train my own kids and provide you support throughout our time together. So to see how I can help you with potty training, head to www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn and book a free call to chat!

Lastly, don’t forget to download my potty training freebie, 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie.

Alright, now on to our potty training clothes debate. Let’s go to the show!

When it comes to potty training, what we have is two groups of parents: those who potty train with their child wearing clothes or those who potty train with their child not wearing clothes.

Each group has an interesting philosophy. Those who potty train with the child not wearing clothes believe that the child will experience an accident, or multiple accidents, and can see and learn how their body works. But the role of the parent is important here. The parent looks for potty cues or signals that indicate the child needs to go to the potty, and then takes the child to the potty when the parent sees those cues.

Those who potty train with the child wearing clothes to do so because since it’s typical for a child to wear clothes regularly throughout the day, clothes are a part of potty training, too. If the child has an accident, the clothes get wet, too.

So where in the debate do you think I fall?

For me, in terms of potty training, it’s important to teach the whole sequence of events that goes with potty training. Wearing underwear instead of a pull-up or diapers. Pulling down shorts and underwear. Flushing. Washing hands. All of it. Because if our goal is to get our child potty trained, what we really mean is that we want our child to be independent in the bathroom, at least I believe that’s what most of us parents want.

So my thoughts are how can we get there as quickly as possible?

By chunking it all together. Creating a routine. Making it clear that going to the bathroom means all of those steps. It’s a chain of events, and when our kid goes to the bathroom, we don’t want him to miss one of those steps in the chain.

So, I’m all pro clothes when it comes to potty training your kids. And it’s what I teach inside my Potty Training Made Easy course (www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy) and within my 1:1 virtual work with parents (www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn). And within the course and within my 1:1 virtual potty training work with parents I also provide some important considerations when it comes to potty training with clothes on, a very important one being, don’t have your kid wear a shirt that is too long. It’ll cause problems!

Now before I go, I want to make it clear that it is likely that your child can get potty trained in a handful of different ways. Plenty of children have been potty trained under the naked method. And for some kids, maybe the naked method is more beneficial for them.

But as I described, I see such value, for our kids and for ourselves as the parents, to potty training with clothes on, if at all possible. Our kids learn all of the important necessary steps and skills of what it means to go to the bathroom, and they learn them in the moment, in real life situations, alongside potty training. Plus, they get tons of practice because with potty training, you should be taking your kid to the potty often, especially those first few days.

So to me, I see it as an ideal setup. Our kids are learning all of those bathroom behaviors and skills together, as a unit. And that’s important.

And if potty training is a to-do that you’re just avoiding, let me help you, walk with you, and guide you through the process through my 1:1 virtual consulting. Book a free clarity call to learn more at www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn.

And don’t forget about signing up for that free parenting strategy session at www.bit.ly/parentingstrategysession so I can help you manage unwanted behavior.

Lots more potty training episodes are coming your way!

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Hi there! We are continuing our behavior series with is it normal for my kid to spit? And I’m really glad we are talking about this spitting behavior because it’s one of those behaviors that happens more than you’d think and it’s an uncomfortable one. I mean spitting… gross. And I’ve noticed more and more that my two-year-old is more aware of his own spit, so it’s not uncommon. So, let’s talk about what we can do about all of this spitting, shall we?!

And in the episode, you’ll find that I describe spitting as a junk behavior, yes, a minor unwanted behavior that isn’t dangerous or harmful, just really annoying. So, to help with this and other minor junk behaviors, go download my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks to Make Behavior Stop freebie to give you some easy strategies to use to help prevent those unwanted behaviors. You can download it at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie. And, of course, helping you managing and address the spitting is a behavior I can help you with virtually with my one-on-one support if you live in Alabama. Head to www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn to book a call with me to learn how I can help support you one on one. And lastly, I’m giving away 5 free parenting strategy sessions to help you get ahold of an unwanted behavior! Sign up for one of those free spots at www.bit.ly/parentingstrategysession.

But for now, let’s talk about spitting. Let’s go to the show!

A lot of times when parents think of spitting, especially in relation to their own child spitting, they think of their child spitting at them or at another person, in their face. And, of course, parents assume that this behavior from their child is in response to some unwanted, negative, or aversive thing that is happening to the child.

So, a child may spit at a you because you told him no, he can’t play on the iPad. Or a child may spit in your face because you are making him do his schoolwork or do his chores. Or a child may spit in your face because you’re too busy playing a game on your phone and you’re not paying any attention to your child.

But spitting can look different, and spitting doesn’t have to be directed towards another person. A child may spit on the ground while playing outside because he saw someone else do it one time or because he saw you spit when you were on a jog.

While spitting can be directed at a person, it doesn’t have to be. A child may spit at the ground or on an object for a number of reasons. And a child doesn’t necessarily spit at a person or an object or on the ground because of some negative or unwanted event. A child may do these things “just because,” so to speak.

Nevertheless, it’s irritating, right? And it’s gross. And, for most of us, it’s a sign of disrespect when someone spits in your face.

But here’s the deal. Some kids spit and some kids don’t. And one of the reasons that spitting continues once our child starts the behavior, is because of our reaction to it.

Yes, it’s gross. Yes, it’s not appropriate. Yes, it seems very disrespectful especially when our kid spit at us or another person. So, what do we do about it?

If a child is trying to get access to something he wants, we should prompt him to ask appropriately instead of spitting. If a child using spitting to escape from something he doesn’t like, we need to follow through with the instruction. And if a child is trying to get attention by spitting, we should remain neutral and provide attention when our child is doing something appropriate.

Even if you know how to respond to the spitting, it can still be hard. Luckily, I can help you come up with a game plan to address the spitting so that spitting is less likely to happen in the future. Book a free call at www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn and let’s chat.

While spitting is unsightly and feels utterly disrespectful, it’s important to respond in a way that won’t encourage your child to just do it again in the future. If your child gets exactly what he wants when he spits, he is going to do it again to get what he wants, whether that be to escape, to get your attention, or to get access to something that he likes.

And if this is the type of behavior you don’t want to deal with on your own and you’re ready for some 1:1 support to guide you with dealing with spitting, sign up for a free call with me to learn about how I can help you. You can do that at www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn.

If your child is a spitter, I feel you, I’m with you, and you can manage it!

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Hey there! Thanks for joining me on another episode of The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. I’ve got a question for you today: What does calm and connected parenting look like for you? And how do you create that? You know that I’m all about positive parenting. I’m all about the praise. I’m all about providing teaching moments in-the-moment. I’m all about using our time with our kids intentionally. And if you’re all about positive parenting and providing praise, how do you create that calm, how do you create that connection amidst all of the craziness that toddlerhood and babies and other kiddos bring to the table? Having a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old of my own, I can 100% relate to this craziness, and I’ll be honest with you: keeping calm and staying connected can be a challenge, especially when someone (either the kids or me) is off on sleep. So today I want to talk about how we can create our own kind of calm and connected parenting, because it’s going to look different for each of us. And I’ll share what my calm and connected parenting looks like, flaws included.

And if you’re in the boat of wanting to learn those positive parenting strategies to help you create that calm and connected parenting, I’ve got so many resources for you! First, download my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie , but if you want something with a bit more depth I’ve got my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course which includes some of the best and my favorite Best Practice parenting strategies, and of course I walk you through those strategies in the course. You can check that out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow. And did I mention that it’s only $34? Yep, it’s a steal!

Lastly, if you live in Alabama and you’re desiring some 1:1 support so you’re not second guessing yourself in your parenting decisions and you want to make sure that you’re handling behaviors at home in an effective way, my doors for 1:1 consultation recently opened up, so go check that out at www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn to see learn how you can work with me. And I’ll be talking about that later on in the show.

Okay, enough of the housekeeping, let’s get to it. Let’s go to the show!

When it comes to dealing with and managing your child’s unwanted behavior, whether that be yelling, screaming, whining, crying, tantrums, hitting, biting, or the whole 9 yards, what we have is a 2-fold situation.

Not only do we want to use those positive strategies that work so that our child’s behavior improves – so that my kid yells less or screams less or whines less or has less tantrums, but we also need these strategies to work to help us, personally, emotionally.

What I’m getting at here is that it’s never just about our child, or our child’s behavior. It’s about us too. We as parents are part of this.

Our child’s behavior improves (or at least has the potential to improve) because we are using good strategies, strategies that work, especially for those minor unwanted behaviors. But as parents we also feel better. When we create a calm and connected style of parenting, we begin to enjoy our own parenting more because now we’ve got positive things – positive behaviors that we actually notice, positive words coming out of our own mouths – surrounding us. And that, my friend, is how we get to feeling better in our parenting.

For me, two things are really big and important for me in order to have that calm and connected parenting are: 1) getting out of my own head and 2) being positive. I need to watch my thoughts about my parenting and my child’s behavior, and I when I bring more positive energy to the moment, everything is always better.

So how will you create your calm and connected parenting?

It may be by setting specific parenting goals for yourself. Praising your kid five times today. Or taking deep breaths when you want to yell. Or writing down three things you’re thankful for each day. It may be finding ways to get more sleep, get to bed earlier, because you’ve noticed that when you’re overtired, you’re more likely to lash out. Or it may be setting your own routine and schedule to make sure that you have snack times for yourself incorporated throughout your day so that you don’t get hangry. Or maybe it’s providing rewards for yourself, or treats for yourself, to help keep your mood up.

You may find that you need to find ways to recharge yourself because, as a parent, it’s easy to give until you have nothing left or lose yourself because you’re so focused on keeping those little people alive and well. It’s easy to forget about ourselves, but it’s incredibly important to take the time to care for ourselves so we can care for those little people.

Take the time and really think about how you currently create that calm and connected parenting. And then think about how you can improve it.

And remember that this is your calm and connected parenting. It’s not someone else’s. And it’s okay for you to do you and to recharge if you need to recharge.

Don’t forget: if you live in Alabama and want someone guiding you through potty training or improving behavior by using positive parenting strategies, I’m your girl and my doors are open for 1:1 virtual behavior consulting. Learn more at www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave review, and share with your friends!

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Hey and welcome back! Today’s episode is all about being comfortable in our own parenting skin. It’s about accepting who we are as parents and also accepting who we desire to be as parents. It’s about throwing away that so-called perfect image and being the parent that our family needs, and truthfully, who we need to be. So, today is about accepting the type of parent you’re striving to be and accepting where you currently may be… room for improvement and all.

And today is an incredibly exciting day because my doors are now OFFICIALLY open for virtual 1:1 behavioral consulting for families who live in Alabama. I’m so excited to be at this new place in my business, yet a very familiar place for me as a professional. I’m very excited to be able to serve families where they are at, to help their day-to-day activities run more smoothly simply by helping to improve behavior, and to be a support person for them. To give your mind some ease and to learn how I can best help you, book a free clarity call with me and learn more about my offerings and packages as www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn.

Now let’s head to the show and throw out that perfect parent image!

We all know that there is lots of room for judgment in the parenting world.

A very timely question we may have is “Should I send my kid back to in-person learning at school or should we do virtual schooling?” We ask our family members their opinion. We ask our neighbors. We ask our friends.

But yet, when we ask around for other people’s opinion, are we really trying to get a better understanding of all sides to a decision (the pros and cons of going back to in-person learning or the pros and cons of doing at home virtual learning)… or are we just trying to get that acceptance?

The acceptance that whatever decision I make as a parent is a good one. That others, that outsiders, that other parents and family members, will agree on our decision and ACCEPT our decision.

I think a lot of times what we are really looking for is that acceptance piece, because not only do we want others who are in similar shoes or who are close to us to accept the parenting decisions that we make, but we also want to avoid any judgement that may come if we make the “wrong” parenting decision.

But this judgement that we can feel doesn’t just come from our decisions about whether or not we should send our children back to in-person learning amidst this pandemic. It can be about general parenting too: how I potty train, how to manage and handle minor inappropriate behavior, how to handle it when my kid doesn’t follow directions or doesn’t do his chores, or refuses to do schoolwork.

And in our culture right now, especially with social media, we have gotten so used to seeing others flaunt their lives, including their parenting lives, and we, the everyday parent are viewers of that, we see that.

And a lot of times we may look at a friend’s parenting life or an influencer’s parenting life and think “well, that style, that parenting style doesn’t really fit my kid or me or my family’s needs. I’m not like that. We’re not like that.

So really what we are left with is accepting ourselves. Accepting our own parenting style. Accepting how our family operates. Being comfortable with who we are as a family, and being confident in that.

And when I work with families within my 1:1 support, I don’t try to make them be like the influencers or the “perfect family” that everyone sees on social media. I help them be their own individual family by looking at the needs of their individual family. Thus, the 1:1 support that I offer is different because I tailor it to what you and your family needs, not what everyone else’s family needs.

If you’re looking for that support and that guidance to get your kids and your parenting back on track (and if you live in Alabama), book a free clarity with me to learn how I can best help you! www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn.

Just throw that perfect parenting image out of the window because it doesn’t exist. What matters is that you are the parent that you need to be and you’re the parent that your kids need you to be. That’s it.

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Hey, hey! Welcome to another episode of The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. Okay, today’s going to be a SUPER fun episode, but I have to admit: I’m slightly nervous about it. Today I’m sharing my #1 pet peeve in the online parenting space and, boy, it’s a doozy. And I’m a bit nervous about it because I do like to get on my soapbox and rant about the things I feel strongly about and am passionate about, and this pet peeve is a big one! But I want you to know that this episode is not an opportunity for me to burn off some steam. No, I’m hopping on this soapbox because you desperately need to hear what I have to say. Because these so-called behavior experts online (or anyone online for that matter) may potentially be giving you the WRONG advice that could make your child’s behavior WORSE. And I can’t sit back and watch this happen to you, friend.

And throughout the episode I’ll be sharing bits and pieces of the 1:1 virtual support I am opening my doors up for to provide to parents who live in Alabama. Go to www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn to learn more and to sign up for a free clarity call to see if us working together would be a good fit.

This episode is going to be a good one. So, grab your skinny vanilla latte and envision us sitting and chatting together at your favorite coffee shop, because this episode will make you feel like two friends chatting over coffee. It’ll be fabulous. Let’s go to the show.

This soapbox that I’m jumping on today, my #1 pet peeve in the online parenting space are the so-called “behavior experts.” I’m not talking about people who have licenses, who have certifications to have the knowledge AND practice of behavior.

And here’s why it gets me fired up. Here’s why it gets me on my soapbox. And why I’m a bit nervous talking about this is because I am being completely raw with you right now. I’ve seen time and again these so-called behavior experts or even other parents give very specific parenting advice to parents who have posted in online groups asking for advice for a specific situation related to unwanted problem behavior.

I’ve seen parents ask for sleep help, for potty training help, for help with tantrums and bullying and biting and hitting and a number of other behaviors in the online space.

Herein is where the problem lies: I’ve seen these behavior experts give these genuinely concerned parents behavior advice, with limited information about the specific situation, with limited information about the child’s history, with limited information with how the parent typically responds, with limited information in what the environment is like, with limited information on what medications the child may be on and the potential side effects that those medications could have, and I could go on here.

And guess what peeps, these “behavior experts” have given advice and recommendations that could actually make the behavior worse…. And the worst part? These behavior experts don’t even know it, but they keep preaching the same darn thing to other parents.

Perfect example, and one I’ve seen before, is when a child does some sort of unwanted inappropriate behavior, let’s say hitting, and the advice that the “expert” gives is to draw close to the child, ask her what’s wrong, talk about feelings right then and there.

Sometimes kids engage in behaviors in order to get attention. So, if a kid is hitting to get attention and you’ve just provided A LOT of attention for that behavior, guess what. That behavior will continue. It won’t stop. Providing all of the coddling won’t make the hitting go away. It’ll only reinforce it and increase it.

Yeah, so that behavior expert doesn’t always know what she’s talking about.

So, as parents, we need to advocate for ourselves. We need to advocate for our families. We need to advocate for our own kids. We need to take the lead in this and be smart about who we are asking advice from.

So how do we do that? How do we know who to trust? How do we know who is the real-deal and who is just pretending?

Ask what that person’s background is. Ask what their education is. What’s their training? What certifications or licenses do they have? What populations have they worked with? What settings have they worked in? Answering these questions will help us distinguish who we should be going to for parenting advice.

As parents, it’s hard. It’s hard to ask for advice and seek help and be vulnerable, and it’s really easy to jump on social media to do it there because it’s simply online, but we need to be careful about who we are asking advice from.

One of the things I really aim for is to make your parenting life easier and coming to you virtually is one way of doing just that.

If you live in Alabama and you’re curious what working with a BCBA is like or how they can help me, jump on a free clarity call with me, you can find an appointment here: www.bit.ly/workwithlauralynn. It’s free. It’s easy. And I’ll help put your mind at ease.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave review, and share with your friends!

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Hi there and welcome back! Today’s episode is the second episode in our new behavior series, the “is it normal for my kid…” series. And today we are talking about tantrums. Your ears perked up, didn’t they?! Every parent has dealt with a tantrum at one time or another, or maybe even dealt with a tantrum every single day. But what we all parents have in common is that we are not big fans of these tantrums, whether they are little tantrums or the really big ones. From minor tantrums that include the whining, pouting, baby talk, and pretending to be mad face to the bigger tantrums that can last more than a four minutes with crying, screaming, and not following our directions, we want to get rid of these tantrums and never see them again. Am I right?! So, in today’s episode we’re going to talk all about tantrums, especially those mini minor tantrums, so we can get ahold of them and figure out how to prevent them because don’t we just want to enjoy our morning, snack time, playtime, and bedtime routine in ease? I know I do!

And because there’s not a one strategy fixes all behaviors, even though I wish there was, I created my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks to Make Behavior Stop freebie to give you some easy strategies to use to help prevent those unwanted behaviors, like tantrums. Go download it now at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie. And like I mentioned last week, I will be opening up my virtual doors soon to provide 1:1 behavior consultation and support for those who live in Alabama, and I’m certain that these mini tantrums is something I’ll be tackling with a lot of parents throughout my 1:1 support. I’ll chat more about that later.

But for now, let’s talk about tantrums. Let’s head to the show!

Tantrums is a very big and popular topic for parents, especially parents of littles around the ages of one to seven. And it makes sense. Tantrums happen, especially with younger children. But even some older children can have tantrums too, they may just look a bit different. Or sometimes, they look exactly the same as a two year-old’s tantrum. It just depends on the kid.

But regardless of how old your child is and what the tantrum looks like, all parents are at least a bit concerned about tantrums. Will they ever stop? Will they ever go away? Will tantrums get worse and worse as my child ages? Will my child start having tantrums in public? Will my child start having tantrums at school or with other people? What will others thing of my child and of me when my kid has a tantrum at the mall, at the park, or at the grocery store? Is it normal for my kid to have tantrums?

Before we go any further let’s stop and talk about what a tantrum is, what it includes, what it looks like.

Tantrums can be grouped into two bunches: mini tantrums or minor tantrums (which we are talking about the most here in this episode) and major tantrums (some people also call them outbursts or meltdowns). Both minor and major tantrums include more than one behavior, like hitting AND crying or whining AND not following directions.

Major tantrums include those major behaviors that are more serious, more physical, more intense, like aggression or property destruction.

Mini tantrums include minor behaviors that are minor in severity and intensity, like crying, whining, pouting, throwing themselves on the floor kicking their arms and legs. But mini tantrums can also include aggression or property destruction, it will likely just look much more mellow.

What I first want to point out, and what I first want to put into perspective is that little kids are gonna have tantrums. Just realize that, acknowledge that, and accept that. Now, I’m not saying that we can’t prevent these tantrums or minimize these tantrums, but when it comes to these little people we live with and interact with, they are going to have tantrums. Why? Because when they are little they are learning so much, they are learning how the world works, how the world operates, and they are learning how to get the things they need and want.

So, for them, they may not know how to get the things they need or want in a more appropriate way, and we need to teach them that. For them, while they are trying to figure out how to communicate, it may just be easier for them to have a tantrum in order to get the things they want. Or they may simply not know how to get what they want, but tantrums work. It’s communication here. And when it works once, it’s their go-to, it’s the easy thing to do in the future under similar circumstances.

But when a child does have a tantrum he may do it to get access to something (like that piece of candy), to escape from something he doesn’t like (like his chores), or to get attention.

It may be difficult to really pinpoint why a child is having a tantrum. So how do we know what to do? How do we respond?

Generally speaking, it’s best to avoid providing a lot of attention for tantrums. If you gave them an instruction, follow through. And prompt them to ask for items appropriately.

Tantrums happen, they are going to happen especially if you have littles running around. Yet, they can still be frustrating as all get out. So think about what your child is trying to do or get with their mini tantrum and respond accordingly.

If you live in Alabama and want more support with dealing with these mini tantrums, maybe 1:1 support and behavioral consultation is right for you. Like I said, I’ll be opening up my virtual doors soon for this type of work. Questions? Send me a message in Facebook or on Instagram.

And to get some strategies into your hands now, download my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Well hi there! Thank you so much for joining me in another episode of The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! If your toddler is getting ready to potty train, you’ll definitely want to listen in to this episode. One of the big debates that I hear about and see happening in regard to potty training is whether or not to use a potty chair. “Should I buy one of those $20 potty chairs that sit on the floor or can I go ahead and just train my kid on the big potty? What’s the right answer?” So, in today’s episode I’m answering your burning question on whether or not you should use a potty chair when potty training your child and, of course, I’ll tell you my reasons why… which, in all honesty, is actually more important than the answer itself.

And because potty training is more than just deciding on whether to use a potty chair or not, I’ve created an entire course to cover the ins and outs of potty training. I’ll chat about it later on in the episode but for now you can check out my Potty Training Made Easy! course at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

Let’s get cracking! Let’s go to the show!

Maybe you’re beginning to think about potty training and you honestly have never thought about whether to potty train on the regular toilet or use a potty chair that sits on the floor, at least until hearing this episode.

There are a lot of decisions to make in potty training, and it can be pretty overwhelming if we let it. That’s why I created my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success (www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie), to give you some much needed answers about potty training from the get-go.

One of the decisions you will have to make is whether to use the toilet or a potty chair, and there are generally two different camps where parents fall along this debate: 1) using the potty chair that sits on the floor, the child pees in the plastic bowl, and you dump out the urine or 2) the regular toilet (with a potty seat insert so they don’t fall out and a step stool if needed).

Honestly, there’s a decent debate for both.

On the one hand, purchasing one of those $10-30 plastic toilets that sits on the floor seems like the best bet. Your toddler will be able to get on the toilet independently by himself. You don’t have to worry about your child being scared of the flushing sound the regular toilet makes. And there’s no concern that your child will play in the toilet water.

But on the other hand, if you just jump into potty training on the regular toilet, life seems simpler. That’s one less expense and one less thing you have to buy. You don’t have to worry about dumping the urine or poo (or forgetting about emptying that plastic toilet bowl). And you don’t have to transition your child from the plastic toilet that sits on the floor to the regular toilet.

So, what do you do? What choice do you make? Which camp do you fall in?

But now I’m going to tell you my opinion, that is, my opinion as behavior analyst AND as a mama of a toddler who’s about to potty train. On one side of me I’ve got the experience of a professional, and the other side of me I’ve got the experience as a real mom.

The way I’ve potty trained every child I’ve ever potty trained and the way I plan to potty train my son is by using the real toilet.

And, in fact, in my Potty Training Made Easy course, I suggest to parents to potty train their kiddo by using the real toilet. And here’s why:

Your child will one day have to use the regular potty. Your child will one day have to flush the toilet. Your child will one day have to climb onto that that regular toilet by him or herself. Why not just begin training your child on the object where they will use the bathroom in almost every other environment.

It’s one less to-do, it’s one less transition you have to worry about when you teach potty training in this way.

When you leave this episode, I want you to understand that there’s not an ALWAYS right answer. Teaching a child to go pee pee on the big potty may not always be the best approach for every child.

However, when doing potty training, teaching a child to go pee pee on the big potty is the approach I take, and it’s the approach that I’ve taken with clients I’ve worked with.

So, if you do end up working with me one-on-one with potty training, you know what to expect. Or you know the stance I take in my Potty Training Made Easy course (again, you can find out more at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy).

I think the important thing here is understanding why you’re doing the approach that you’re doing, whether that be with the regular toilet or the potty seat on the floor. And as in all parts of potty training or parenting for that matter, being open to modifying what you’re doing if needed.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, leave review (kudos to you for doing so!), and share with friends.

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Hey, hey! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today I’m bringing you inside my world of behavior. I’m sharing with you how I actually view behavior, especially behavior of children: my thoughts, my attitudes, my emotions surrounding behavior. And what’s fun is that I’ll give you my unique perspective on behavior as a behavior analyst AND a mama. It surely is an interesting place for this behavior lady to be! But seriously, this is an important topic because inappropriate or unwanted or undesirable behavior (whatever you call it) is a tricky thing to view, to deal with, to watch happening, especially if you’re the mama (or dad) of the child doing those unwanted things. No parent likes to see their kid throwing those peaches across the floor. No parent likes to see their kid hit his younger sister. No parent likes to see or hear the crying, the kicking and screaming, the tantrum that is happening on your kitchen floor. Unwanted behavior is not the prettiest thing to deal with, and our thoughts can run wild on this inappropriate behavior if we let it. This is a guilt free and judgement free zone here folks, and I want to share with you my inside view of behavior.

And just a heads up, later on in the episode, I’ll be mentioning my Regain Control course, your go-to course for positive parenting. You can check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Alright, let’s get to it. Let’s go to the show!

I bring this episode to you today because for those parents who have a child who engages in or exhibits or who has some type of undesirable behavior (and that’s got to be every parent at some time or another in their child’s 18 years of growing), their view on their child’s behavior can be really sticky and can get their own head into a lot of trouble.

And as a behavior analyst who works with families of children who do those unwanted behaviors, it’s an interesting spot to be when I, the therapist, the consultant, the service provider, have a much different view on behavior than the family I’m serving.

A lot of families, not all, but a lot of families view behavior in a very weighted way.

Because my kid hits, he’s bad.

Because my kid has obnoxious tantrums of crying, screaming, and kicking legs, he’s out of control and my parenting is no good.

Because my kid talks back to me and to other adults, I’m a no-good parent.

Because my child STILL has pee-pee accidents, even though we did potty training a year ago, me and my daughter just didn’t try hard enough.

Because my child won’t stay in her room when put to bed, she’s out of control.

Or the thought of “I can’t even handle my own kid” quickly comes to mind for lots of parents when their child does any sort of unwanted behavior.

But my view of behavior is that behavior is behavior.

Yes, it’s something that a child does. Yes, it’s currently going on and messing with the positive home life you’re trying to create. Yes, it’s causing stress and anxiety and turmoil in your household. But at the end of the day, behavior is just behavior.

Behavior is a thing that happens, that can be observed and measured.

Sure, in order to solve the problem and to prevent the behaviors, there’s some work that needs to take place. The child may need to learn new skills, like asking for what they want instead of throwing a tantrum. And also, the parent may need to implement and use new strategies to help prevent the behavior from happening in the first place, like some of the strategies I suggest in my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop freebie, which you can find at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

Or maybe positive parenting strategies need to be implemented in the home, like the ones in my Regain Control course www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Sometimes, when we hold onto this emotion and how the behavior makes us feel, it gets in the way with actually finding a solution that will help improve the situation and get rid of the behavior (or at least decrease the behavior so that it doesn’t happen as much).

But don’t get me wrong here, don’t think that I’m heartless and that I don’t care about feelings and what is going on in your situation. It’s because I do care, it’s because I want your parenting to be easier, it’s precisely because I want that turmoil and suffering and despair to go away. And because I want these things for you, because I want you to have some of these gains in your parenting, I take the emotion out of it so we can get to the base of the behavior in order to find a solution to help you get to those gains.

Whether you end up coming through my door and working 1:1 with me or jump into one of my courses or are a subscriber to the podcast, you now know that this is how I view behavior.

I look at the facts. I look at the behavior. I look at the situation. I look at the environment. And when we have all the information we need to have, that’s when we can move forward to making adjustments and modifications to help prevent unwanted behavior, and then begin creating the parenting and family life you want in the process.

If you’re looking for a recommendation of a course to start with to help you on this journey, my Regain Control course is it. Check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Don’t forget to subscribe and I’d love for you to leave review!

Let’s connect!

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Hello there! In today’s episode I want to let you in on a little secret. I want to share with you the one question I always ask parents about behavior, WHY I ask this question to ALL parents, and WHY this question is important to me (and why it should be important to you, too). Plus, I’ll give you a behind-the-scenes look into the approach I use when I work one-on-one with families. If you’ve ever wondered how I do what I do… you know, this whole behavior thing… this is your episode!

Later on in the episode, I’ll be mentioning my Regain Control course… my most favorite course. You can find more info on the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

And last week I let you in on another secret: I’ll be offering virtual consulting with parents so soon! I’m so incredibly pumped for this, and I’ve been working diligently in getting all my systems together to offer you a great experience with one-on-one consulting with a behavior analyst. So, if you’re in Alabama and are looking for help with potty training or getting ahold of some of those unwanted behaviors, reach out on Facebook or Instagram (those links are at the bottom of your show notes) and ask me all the questions. I’d love to begin chatting!

Okay, enough with all the announcements. Let’s jump in!

The reason I bring up the one question I ask all parents about behavior is because when giving sound decisions and recommendations to families, there’s a lot that we need to know about behavior in order to make those recommendations. And by asking this question, so begins that better understanding of behavior for the parent.

So, here it is: What were you doing and what was going on prior to this behavior episode?

I ask this question to all parents because it paints the picture that behavior can be a bit more complex than we think and the environment has a heck of a lot to do with behavior. Truthfully, the answer to this question can help us identify areas of improvement and next steps for how to prevent this behavior from happening in the first place.

Because this question potentially helps identify areas of improvement and helps identify next steps for treatment and recommendations, it’s a no-brainer to ask.

Getting the answer to this question may help lead me to recommend easy strategies like the ones in my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie. The answer to this question could also help identify that the parent could work on providing specific positive strategies like the ones in Regain Control course (www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow) to help prevent behavior.

This one question is the very backbone to how I work one-on-one with families. It’s the beginning of my consultation with them, and that original question grows and takes on different shapes as my service and support to each particular family continues.

And the one question I ask every parent can now be the same question you ask yourself when you’re curious about why your child is having that specific behavior episode. What is going on prior to that episode and how am I involved (or not involved) in that? This can give you some insight and help you step out of the emotion of the situation, which is so easy to get caught up in when it’s your kid.

If you want a little glimpse into some of the best strategies that I recommend to almost every parent when I provide 1:1 services, check out my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

But if you’re stuck, there’s no shame in getting some outside help. It may be just the thing you need.

Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hi, hi! Welcome back! Within the past few months I’ve had some parents approach me and I’ve seen numerous parents on social media ask openly in groups about whether a certain behavior is “normal” for their child. And as I’ve been observing these conversations, especially since more parents are spending more time with their children because of the pandemic, I decided to launch a new series on the podcast all about answering and addressing these questions about certain behaviors. So today is the launch of this new series, and today we are talking about biting! Oh, a good topic, I know!

(And just for the record, if there’s a specific behavior you want me to chat about in future episodes, send me a message on Instagram or Facebook, and know that you can do that about anything you want to hear about on the podcast.)

And if you’re here to learn about some strategies to help manage minor misbehaviors, like whining, pouting, or mini tantrums, check out my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Alright, now let’s chat about biting. Let’s go to the show!

Biting is a really great topic to start this behavior series off with because it’s a behavior that has a lot of parents really concerned, and rightly so.

We often question: Will my child bite other people besides me? What if my kid bites his younger siblings? What if my kid goes to school or goes to daycare and bites his peers? We are left feeling that biting can make us look like bad parents!

And then we have our own beliefs about biting: Biting is not healthy, it’s not sanitary. I don’t want my kid to be the mean kid or the bully who bites other kids. Biting is not the right way to respond in a situation. Something is wrong with my child for biting other people.

Before we get into “is it normal” for my kid to bite or what should I do if my kid bites, we first need to know what biting is, what it includes. (And, really, that’s important for any behavior we talk about.)

Biting for the most part includes a child putting her mouth on another person, using teeth, and putting force down. It may be one solid strike or it may be more like chewing. It may leave marks if enough force is applied.

Next, we need to ask why our child is biting.

It may be to get access to something the child likes. It may be to escape or get out of cleaning up toys. It may be to get attention from an adult. It may be for sensory reasons, to get a sensory stimulation. And it’s possible that a child may bite for a combination of these reasons.

Yet, it may be difficult to really pinpoint why a child is biting. So how do we know what to do? How do we respond?

Because we may not know how to respond based off of why the child is doing the behavior in the first place, there are a couple of things we can do. First, don’t give in. And second, teach the child an alternative way to get whatever it is that she’s trying to get with the biting.

Like I said, biting can be a really intimidating behavior to deal with, because when it happens, you are likely to be immediately frazzled because your kid just bit you, her sibling, or a peer. Yikes!

But take a deep breath, think about what is going on in that situation, and respond neutrally.

If you’re looking for standard procedures and recommendations for minor unwanted behaviors, check out my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow. My 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie may also be helpful to you.

My goal is to give you the knowledge to feel more prepared to handle this situation, both mentally and physically. I hope it helps!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave review, and share with friends!

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Hello there! Today on the podcast I am sharing maybe the most important thing you have heard in a while about your child’s behavior. We don’t talk about it, we don’t realize it, and we definitely don’t give ourselves slack for it. So, listen up, because today I’m going to hand you the knowledge you need so you can let yourself breathe when it comes to raising your children.

Later on, I’ll be mentioning my Regain Control course, a course to help you use those positive parenting strategies in your home. You can check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Buckle up! Let’s get to it!

The idea for this episode came from a guest expert interview I was honored to be a part of, and I had a conversation with a few mamas about managing their child’s behavior.

They asked the typical parenting questions:

How do I respond to this? How do I respond when my kid snatches another kid’s toy? Is this typical child behavior? Is it normal for my kid to tantrum and hit? Should I be concerned about this? Should I be concerned that my child doesn’t stay with an activity for very long? Are people going to view my child as the bully for inappropriate behaviors like pushing or hitting?

First, hear this: You are an amazing parent for even worrying about these things, for being concerned about your child’s behavior, for confronting your own fears related to how your child behaves, and for seeking deeper knowledge and insight into why your child is doing what she is doing. Seriously, kudos to you because not all parents are thinking these things.

Now on to the one thing you need to hear about your child’s behavior: it has everything to do with how they learn behavior.

Because children aren’t born knowing how to do things or to have social skills, it doesn’t seem so much of a threat to us as parents. It’s not that something is wrong with our child because he pushed another kid. It’s not that something is wrong with our kid because she snatches toys. Instead, we look at it as an opportunity for our child to learn how to behave appropriately in that situation, in that specific context. And the fact that children CAN LEARN how to do these things – to share, to take turns, to say “excuse me” instead of push – we can take a breath and not put so much weight on ourselves for needing a perfect child.

And because our children can learn, we can teach them to respond appropriately in a given situation. It’s not that something is inherently wrong with our child or with our parenting. Instead, it’s an opportunity for growth – and that’s an amazing thing!

You can begin improving behavior with simple strategies, like what I share in my 3 Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

I hope these words have been just a reassuring for you and hit home for you just as the mamas I chatted with a few months back.

Knowledge is power, and learning is even more powerful.

To learn about positive parenting strategies to help with this learning, check out my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave review, and share with friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hey, hey! I’m so glad that you are back for another episode on The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! And if this is your very first episode, welcome! I am so happy to have you! If you’ve caught the last two episodes you know that we’ve been talking about setting parenting goals. In today’s episode I’m kind of piggybacking off of the idea of setting those parenting goals by talking about going ALL IN with your parenting. If you know me or you feel like you know me pretty well from the podcast or from social media or from receiving my weekly emails, you know that I don’t do anything half-way. I just don’t. I hate it. And this is in parenthood, in business life, and in my personal life. It’s like I can’t do anything half-way. If I know I can’t give something my full effort, then I just won’t do it. Plain and simple. Why? Because I honestly don’t want to bother wasting my time doing something that I’m only going to do half-way, because I know what the outcome will be for me IF I do something only half-way: I may give up. I may quit. I may get so utterly frustrated that I’m not in it 100%. I likely won’t see the results that I want to see if I’m lackadaisical about it. To me, it’s a waste of time. And it’s one of the reasons why I haven’t potty trained my son yet (it’ll actually be coming soon!) – because I wasn’t ready yet and I didn’t want to do it half-way. So, in this episode, we are lunging into why going ALL IN your parenting will help you live your BEST parenting life. I’m an “ALL IN” kind of girl and there’s a reason for it!

And in the show I’ll be mentioning my Regain Control course – your go-to course for the positive parenting strategies that I swear by – you can check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Alright, let’s jump to it! Let’s go to the show!

I really want to break down what going “all in” actually is and then discuss why we sometimes don’t go “all in” (because that is important).

Going “all in” is all about making a decision that “this” is how things are going to go and then doing what you need to do to help you accomplish whatever you are going “all in” for. It’s about finding an area in your life, in your parenting, in your home life, at your job, or any other situation that needs improvements and acknowledging that changes can be made to have that area be more positive for you.

It’s not going from 0 to 100, throwing everything you have at a problem willy-nilly. It’s about stepping up, stepping past fear, and taking one step at a time to accomplish a goal or make a change.

For example, if you want to ditch the yelling, you can decide that something is going to change, working on providing more praise, learning all the tools you need to help you actually ditch the yelling (like in my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow), and then continually working on it and taking steps forward.

It’s not about being perfect. It’s about moving forward.

But there are reasons why you may not go “all in,” and these reasons are holding you back from

Living your best parenting life. Fear, not being prepared, and not feeling motivated are just a few reasons that can hold you back.

When you do go “all in,” when you step up and step out, you show up differently. This is how you get to living your best parenting life. When you decide to make a change and then take that first step, that is the beginning of you going “all in.”

And the more you do this, the more you take those steps and go “all in” in small ways, you’ll need be able to go “all in” in even bigger ways. And soon you find yourself creating the best life for you.

It is possible for you to live your best parenting life. It’s a matter of going all in by taking one small step at a time. Making the decision to make a change and then taking action to begin that change, even gradually, slowly.

If your best parenting life includes getting rid of the yelling and interacting with your kids more positively, my Regain Control course is for you: www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Overcome the fear, take action, take those steps, and you’ll be living the best parenting life for you!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave review, and share with friends!

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Hi there! Welcome to part two of setting your parenting goals on The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! In case you missed it, last week we talked all about the concept of setting parenting goals for ourselves. Why? Because if we desire and want to see real change in our lives, whether that be in our parenting style, in our homes, in how we feel about our parenting, with our child’s behavior, or any number of things, then setting parenting goals is the ticket to help us get to be that more positive parent, help us have a more joyful home, help us feel confident in our parenting, help us see improvements in our child’s behavior, or whatever outcome we are shooting for. Today, part two is the actual meat of setting parenting goals, it’s the how-to. We’re going to take that outcome that you desire, turn it into actionable steps, and turn it into a goal that will help lead you to that success. So, grab your notebook and pen and let’s get cracking to setting that parenting goal!

And if your goal is to be a more positive parent, to implement those positive parenting techniques and strategies, then please take a look at my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow. It’ll make accomplishing that goal so much easier… because I hand you those techniques.

Now let’s do some goal setting!

If you haven’t listened to episode 66 go do that now, because in that episode we lay the groundwork for putting pen to paper and creating our parenting goals.

Think back to that outcome that we want to create: being a positive parent, having a household that runs smoothly, addressing your child’s unwanted or inappropriate behaviors.

How are you going to get to that outcome?

If you want no yelling, you may need something to replace the yelling because it’s likely that you’ll end up yelling anyways when your kid spills juice all over those floors you just cleaned.

If you want less chaos in your morning routine with the family, then something is going to need to change each morning (or even the night before) to help make that morning routine less chaotic.

How you’re going to get to that outcome is what your goal actually is, and you can create that successful goal with these important tips:

Define your goal. Be clear and concise.

Start small and simple, then modify your goal as you improve.

Measure your progress with your goal. How are you performing?

Be consistent and motivate yourself to accomplish your goal.

If you want less chaos during the morning routine, more peace and order during that time, your goal may be: “I will create less chaos during our morning routine by prepping lunches and clothes the night before and waking up 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the family.”

You may want to check out my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie. To give you extra strategies to help accomplish your goals, especially if your goal is related to your child’s behavior.

Or if your goal is about implementing positive parenting strategies, look at my Regain Control course where I walk you through how to use positive parenting strategies that are easy to use and that work! You can see all about the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

But, if you haven’t done the groundwork, if you haven’t figured out what outcome you want, start there. Once you know that, work your way backwards to figure out how you will get there.

If you’re looking to do more positive parenting, maybe some of that groundwork is to learn about new strategies that you can use to accomplish that goal. My Regain Control course would be a perfect place to start www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

And once you set your goal and tried it out, don’t worry if it doesn’t work out perfectly the first go around. You can modify and adjust as needed as you learn more about the outcome that you want and what will help you accomplish that.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave review, and share with friends!

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Hello, hello! Today on The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast we are diving into the topic of parenting goals. Why? Because if we want to see real change in our parenting style, if we want to see real change in our homes, if we want to see real change in how we feel about our parenting, or if we want to see real change with our children’s behavior, we have to, and I mean HAVE to do something different in order to bring about that change. But we can’t just do something different here or there or every now and again. We have to be consistent with doing these things differently, and thus, setting goals for ourselves that we can actually accomplish which will in turn help us to see those lasting changes that we so desperately want. Whether you’re here to learn how to be a more positive parent or how to get your kid’s tantrums under control or to create a household that runs more smoothly or any other change for that matter, this episode is for you. So, grab your notebook, pen, and coffee (most importantly) and get ready for the actionable steps I have for you to help you feel confident in your parenting, see improvements in your child’s behavior, and actually enjoy your household. And there’s so much to unpack with this topic that next week’s episode will be dedicated to setting parenting goals. So for today’s episode, we are talking about the ever-so important first step of setting the groundwork for seeing those outcomes that we want.

And just so you know, my Regain Control course is your ideal companion if you’re in the learning more about positive parenting boat. You can check that out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Now grab your coffee and let’s head to the show.

Have you ever set a parenting goal before? If not, why not?

I’m here to argue that you can and should set these types of goals. Why? Because they may just be the structure that you need to help bring about the changes that you want to see.

Instead of wishing and hoping for our homes to run smoother or for us to be more positive or for our kid to whine less, we need to do something about it.

We need actionable steps, ones that are easy for us to do so that we will actually do them so we can begin to see these improvements in our lives. Plus, setting goals can help us stay accountable and consistent.

Let’s set the groundwork for creating the goals that will help us produce the outcomes that we want in our parenting.

What outcome do you want to achieve?

I really want you to think about your own parenting life. What do you want to see changed? What do you want to be different? What outcome are you desiring? Once you’ve figured that out, we can then work backwards to create the goal to help produce that outcome.

Really pause and take some time to think about the outcome you want. Is it fewer tantrums? Is it less chaos during the morning routine when you’re trying to get everyone out the door? Is it less yelling?

Whatever your outcome is, what do you have to do to get to that outcome?

If the outcome you are desiring is less yelling (or, even better, more praise), my Regain Control course will give you specific strategies that are easy to use that will help you get that more praise that you’re looking for. Check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

If your outcome is a more peaceful home, you may want to check out my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie. These three hacks can help you create that structure and consistency that you want.

In next week’s episode we will unpack how to actually set and accomplish our parenting goals. But before we do that, we have to get crystal clear with the outcome we want.

What outcome do you want? Why do you want that outcome? What will it mean for you? What will it do for you?

Whatever outcome you want, give yourself the brain space to really reflect and think on it. What do you want to see differently? What’s that outcome? What’s that feeling you’re looking for. And how will having that outcome accomplished help you and serve you better?

I’m excited to unpack more in next week’s episode.

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Hi there and welcome back to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. I’m so happy to have you join me! Today’s episode is about the REAL way to get your kid to do what you want. I know, you’re probably screaming right now saying, “Yes, please, give me the real way.” Because ultimately, we do want our kids to do what we want. We want them to follow our instructions. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have delivered the instruction in the first place. We want them to behave appropriately. We prefer no screaming, no running through the house, and no whining. We want our kids to be able to follow a schedule and transition from activity to activity with no problems... instead of throwing a major fit because TV time is over and we’ve got to get ready for dinner. So today I’m going to help you realize what the real way is to get your kid to do what you want, and the answer may just surprise. Oh goody!

And I’ll be mentioning my Regain Control course later on in the episode, so for now go check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Now let’s get real, shall we? Let’s go to the show.

First, let me ask you: what is it that you want to change about your child or your situation or your home environment? You probably don’t even need to think about it because it’s been on your mind and you know exactly what needs to change.

Maybe it’s getting your kid potty trained or responding positively to help solve those inappropriate behaviors or laying down some guidelines for bedtime with your kid so you’re not playing that back-and-forth in bed and out of bed game.

Now let me jump right to the surprise of how we get our kids to do what you want… it’s you. It’s the parent.

A magic pill isn’t going to make your kid do what you want. A big wish won’t make your kid do what you want. And putting the responsibility on someone else or on your kid won’t make them do what you want.

Whether it’s ditching the diapers and getting your kid potty trained or finally addressing those unwanted behaviors (like whining, fighting back and forth, tantrums) so that you see a lot less of those behaviors, change is likely not going to happen unless you help make change happen.

While it may be difficult to hear that you are an incredibly significant piece for this puzzle to change, I want you to know that and to understand that because if you do want to see those changes (a potty trained toddler and a lot fewer tantrums), then you’ve got to be a part of that solution.

What I can tell you is this: if you are not motivated to make a change to help solve whatever issue you’re wanting to change (remember what you thought of at the beginning of this episode), or you’re not motivated to accomplish a parenting goal that you’ve set for yourself, then I believe that making that change in order to see those results is going to be ten times harder and will take longer.

If you’re really wanting to get your kiddo’s tantrums under control: shorter tantrums, fewer tantrums, less of a headache for you, something will need to change. Something has to be different.

We got to do something new, and thus, we got to make a change. To begin that journey, download my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks to Make Behavior Stop at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

So how do you get your kid to do what you want? It’s starts with you.

Be very clear with whatever it is that you want to change. Be very clear of the outcome you want.

Get the needed help to help you make those changes and see those results. I’ve got a handful of resources for you. If you’re potty training, download my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie. If you’re working on more praise and positive parenting strategies for a happier home, check out my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Help yourself to make the parenting changes you need to make by motivating yourself. Yay, rewards!

And most importantly, realize that you may need to change something in yourself to help change your child’s behavior

Remember, instead of looking at with a sense of worry or fear or pressure, look at it with a sense of confidence, empowerment, and strength. Because when you actively help address a situation with your child (instead of passively letting it affect you), you are moving to bring about change… to bring about the success and improvement that you are striving for.

If you’ve got a kiddo with unwanted behaviors, my Regain Control course is a perfect place to start www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Look at that power within yourself and begin moving because that’s when you will begin to see change.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave review, and share with friends!

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Hello, hello! Today on The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast I really aim to EMPOWER you and to give you PERMISSION to live that parenting life you have always imagined. But I have to say that if you really want to live the parenting life you imagined – being the parent you want to be, responding to your kids the way you envision and desire to respond to them (even when they are doing those unwanted behaviors), actually enjoying being a parent, AND feeling confident – you don’t want to do it alone. You simply don’t. And as you’ve probably all figured out, parenting does not come with a manual. So today, let’s talk about creating our own manual, if you will, in order to be the parents that we so desire to be.

But before we dive in, my Regain Control course is the PERFECT companion to today’s conversation. I’ll talk more about it later so for now check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Now let’s head to the show.

Parenting doesn’t come with a manual. When I became a parent, I wish I knew everything there is to know about raising children, but I’m so thankful that I’ve got a head of knowledge on child behavior.

Throughout my education I always said that even if I never worked a day in my life (which actually isn’t the case, I’ve done a lot of working with kids and parents), if I was a mama and raised my kids without working outside of the home, my education and my knowledge would never be wasted because that knowledge on child behavior would support me in my parenting journey every single day of my parenting life. And it’s been 100% true.

You can find a little bit of this knowledge in my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks freebie at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

But this idea that parenting doesn’t come with a manual is so true. As parents we don’t know everything, and truthfully, it’s impossible to know everything. So, what do we do? What do we do if we don’t have that manual?

Getting help is the best think you can do. Utilize your resources. Access your parenting experts.

Why are you trying to do parenting without support? Why are you trying to do it alone?

My argument is that with extra support, parenting is easier. We’ve got the resources, we’ve got the backbone, we’ve got the support we need to be the parent we want to be. And when we have the knowledge, the support, and the confidence, parenting is easier.

For example, if you want to implement positive parenting strategies, how are you going to do it?

For support in that area, my Regain Control course will give you the specific tools and knowledge to begin that positive parenting practice. Check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Our world has taught us that it’s silly to seek outside help on parenting. That we “shouldn’t” have to pay to learn how to be a parent. That we should already know everything. That’s absolutely crazy!

Parenting doesn’t come with a manual. Why not talk to an expert? Why not get expert advice?

I’m giving you permission to seek extra help. Seek out that advice. Change the world’s ideas about getting parenting help by utilizing help for yourself.

Support your friends by giving them the permission and courage to seek out that help and guidance that they may need. For starters, share this episode with them.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. How to avoid yelling… Maybe you’re thinking that it’s not possible, right? Maybe you feel that it’s simply not possible for you to avoid yelling because of a particular circumstance: you’re a single parent; you feel your child is the WORST behaved one out there; you feel like you don’t have the motivation to try a different strategy and cut out the yelling; you’ve tried it and it just doesn’t work; OR you’re over-tired, over-worked, and simply burned out. Well I’ve got some good news for you. It IS possible. You CAN avoid yelling. And, bonus, you CAN find more joy at home! And that’s what today is all about.

If you’re truly ready to ditch the yelling, check out my Regain Control course where you’ll learn specific strategies to use IN PLACE OF yelling that will help prevent the behaviors that caused you to yell in the first place. You can check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Let’s jump to it! Let’s go to the show!

Let’s be honest here. We all have yelled at our kids, or at least have been tempted to yell at our kids, when they’ve done some behavior that just annoys the heck out of us.

It’s tempting to yell because it’s easy, especially if that’s how we were raised. It’s an easy go-to, and sometimes it just happens. The words fly out of our mouth and we don’t even realize it until it’s over. And sometimes we think it’ll make us feel better…. because we think it’ll work… and we’re really angry about something and yelling supposedly helps with that.

The problem with yelling is that it doesn’t work…. LONGTERM. We have to keep yelling… now and in the future.

But let’s just say that yelling as a parenting strategy worked. Even if yelling really works for your kid, that doesn’t mean that this is the strategy that you want to use.

So, let’s ditch the yelling and move toward more positive parenting practices. Let’s use those positive parenting strategies that build up our relationships with your children, not destroy them.

Jump on the positive parenting bandwagon now with my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks that are, indeed, positive parenting strategies. Download the freebie now at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

And remember, positive parenting is not some wishy-washy style of parenting. These are real parenting tactics that work and that are backed by science. My Regain Control course is filled with positive parenting strategies that are backed by science to help you decrease and prevent those unwanted behaviors from happening in the first place. Check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

These positive parenting strategies helps us have a better relationship with our kids because communication is clear, we’ve outlined our expectations, and we’ve created a positive environment instead of one that’s built on negativity and fear.

And when we use these positive strategies, it helps us feel more confident as parents, we feel less guilty, we feel empowered, and we enjoy parenting our children.

When we get rid of the negativities of yelling, we aren’t wasting our precious time thinking about how we should be different, how we should be a better parent, how we wish we had a different relationship with our child. Instead, we are replacing the negativity with positivity which brings us joy in our parenting.

Grab easy-to-use positive parenting strategies with my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Well, hello! Welcome back to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. Today on the show we are talking about a very timely topic that probably many of you have faced: regressions. That could be regressions in behavior, regressions with sleep, or regressions with potty training. And it’s a timely topic because lots of children have faced or are facing regressions because of the pandemic. Because of being quarantined. Because of having to attend virtual school. Because of being socially isolated and not being able to play with friends. Because of being stuck at home, which is a completely different and weird situation for our kids. Shoot, it’s all weird, isn’t it? So today we are jumping into why regressions happen and what to do to get back to normal. Plus, I’ll share my own thoughts and my family’s specific situation with regressions.

And since many of you are experiencing increases in tantrums and other behaviors… more so than normal… download my When Your Kid Acts Out: 3 Easy Parenting Hacks to Make It Stop to help you gain some sanity back in your day – and prevent those unwanted behaviors – by using easy strategies that work! You can snag that at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

Now on to the show!

Numerous children have regressed in some way during this time of quarantine, and I’ve personally heard from several parents indicating that their kid has experienced regressions, whether that be with sleep, potty training, or unwanted behaviors.

Regressions occur because of some type of stress in the child’s life and/or changes in their environment. During this time, our children have experienced both. They’ve experienced financial stress and emotional stress, and they’ve experienced changes in their environment, like not being at school, spending more time at home, and not seeing their friends.

Regressions are common right now because of all of the stress and all of the changes we’ve faced because of the pandemic.

So how should we respond? We should avoid getting mad, avoid getting frustrated, and avoid yelling. We should reassure them. And we should begin addressing the problem.

When our children have had regressions in their behavior and they are now having more tantrums, acting like a baby, or whining, we can use strategies that work, like my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks. You can download that at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie. Using strategies actually gives our kids structure, routine, security, and reassurance because when we are consistent with them, our kids know what to expect. It brings a sense of comfort. For more specific strategies that I recommend for all parents, check out my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

When our children are having regressions in potty training or are having accidents when they haven’t been having any, we can go back to what worked during our potty training with our kids. It’s like a refresher for our kids. Unsure of what worked with potty training? Grab my freebie 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie.

When our children are having regressions with their sleep, like wanting to sleep in your bed, fighting bedtime, and leaving their room once put to bed, we want to make sure we are using behavioral strategies that work. Having a solid bedtime routine is key. We could even use a bedtime pass if our kids leave their room once they are put to bed. I’ll explain all about it in my Bedtime Pass Mini Course at www.bit.ly/bedtimepass.

And, of course, it’s always a good idea to talk to your pediatrician when regressions arise.

The big take away here is don’t get mad with yourself, don’t get mad with kids, and do the things that work! If you need tips to help with those behavior check out my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks

freebie at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie. I’m rooting you on! And I’m here to support you!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hi there! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. I’m so happy to have you join me today as we talk all about the thief of joy in our parenting. My mission with this podcast is to really help you take your parenting journey by the horns, and that means owning your parenting, having the strategies to support you and your kiddos so you can take your parenting journey by the horns, and actually enjoy being a parent. But one of the things that holds us back in our parenting, that interferes with having that joy in parenting is comparing our family, our kid, our situation, to someone else’s. It’s simply the pits. So today we are talking about how this comparison is the thief of joy in our parenting and how we can move past it in order to live the parenting life we’ve always imagined. Let’s go get some joy, shall we?

And to help you hold on to some of that joy and sanity in your parenting, let me make potty training easier for you! Download my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie to help you get started today.

Alright, let’s get to it. Let’s head to the show!

One of the biggest sources of stress for parents is comparison: comparing parenting methods, your child’s development, timing of milestones, behavior, academics, you name it. And when we compare, our joy is taken from us because we are second guessing ourselves and are not confident in our own parenting.

We may compare our child’s inappropriate behavior to another child’s well-behaved behavior. When we do this, we may think things like:

“Her kids don’t act like that.”

“She can handle her kids.”

“I’m not a good enough parent.”

“Something is wrong with my kid.”

What we need to do is to get that joy back, and we can do that by having strategies that work to help prevent those inappropriate behaviors in the first place. Check out my Regain Control course to learn easy strategies that can help bring the joy back into your home. www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow

It’s so easy to compare with potty training. From the specific method you use to the age at which you potty train your toddler to receiving pressure from the preschool, there’s a lot of unnecessary pressure with potty training.

Ready to throw this pressure out the window? Snag my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie to start the journey to successful potty training.

Want to take it a step further, ditch the diapers, and have a potty trained toddler. Check out my Potty Training Made Easy course where I guide you through each step of the potty training process: www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

In all honesty, we need to just ditch the comparison. We need to focus on our own parenting, our own kids, and our own goals. And most importantly, to help us have the joy that we want, we need to do the things that work, like potty training backed by science (hello 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success: www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie)

We need to refocus our expectations, and know, believe, and behave that we’ve got whatever it is that we are trying to accomplish in our parenting.

Today is the day. We need to ditch the comparison. We need to get our joy back and take our parenting journey by the horns by believing in ourselves, using strategies that work - - yes to potty training secrets at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie - - have some of that extra knowledge to give us leverage in our parenting.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review (I love hearing your take!), and share with your friends!

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Well, hello! Welcome to another episode of The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. I am SUPER excited about today’s episode because we are talking about CRUSHING, yes, crushing our common parenting challenges. TODAY. Not in 2 weeks. Not in 3 months. Not in a year. But TODAY! And here’s the dealio. I WANT you to crush whatever your challenges in parenting are: bedtime stuff, potty training setbacks, annoying behaviors, your own mindset. Because, the moment you do that, the moment you begin that: everything changes. You now have positive outcomes knocking at your front door instead of dreading stepping out of your bed in the morning. I mean, can I get a hand raise here? But in all seriousness, are you ready for this episode to knock your socks off? Me too! Let’s go!

But before we get to knocking off those socks, I know a lot of you are taking advantage of potty training your toddler during lockdown. To make your life easier, grab my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie.

Now let’s knock those socks off! Let’s go to the show!

We all experience some challenges in parenting. Here are a few: using a reward system to address annoying behaviors; getting rid of the paci; potty training; and transitioning to a big boy bed.

But a lot of times, the struggle is just perceived and is often not the reality when using science-backed tools and strategies.

And we should be all about crushing these challenges in order to get to the positive outcomes that we are looking for:

Having your kiddo sleep in his bed, which means more sleep for you, better sleep for your kid, and getting your bed back.

Finally getting potty training done, which translates to saving money on diapers, your child having independence in the bathroom, and you having freedom from diapers. (Don’t forget to check out my potty training course which includes a step-by-step guide to walk you through what a potty: www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.) Be sure to download my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success to get started today! www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie

Addressing those annoying behaviors so they stop, which means there is less of the inappropriate behavior, more peace and calm, and you enjoy your kids more.

Crushing these challenges can mean more confidence, peace, joy, self-assurance, and more money (since you’re not wasting money on diapers).

We still have to crush these common parenting challenges, and we can do that by using science-backed strategies, getting over the fear and stepping into that parenting role, having a step-by-step action plan (such as with potty training - - check out my freebie to get started here: www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie), and using our resources.

Looking for strategies to deal with those annoying behaviors? Check out my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Get the mindset shift you need and let’s begin taking charge of these common parenting challenges!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review (it really helps me out!), and share with your friends!

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Hello, hello! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. Today we are diving into those myths of potty training, you know, the stories we tell ourselves: it’s going to take forever, I don’t have the time, there will be lots of accidents, my child will struggle. In this episode, we are going to take those myths, overcome them with truth (thank goodness), and put those myths in their rightful place (hello trash can)… all for the purpose of potty training your child with ease!

And to begin your potty training journey with ease, hurry and snatch up my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie.

Now let’s jump in. Let’s go to the show!

We’ve created myths, we’ve created stories in our heads about potty training that aren’t true. We may create the story that our child will struggle with potty training. We don’t have the time. It will take forever. Potty training is too complicated.

Truthfully, these are all stories that we may tell ourselves. And you know what, they aren’t serving us or our kiddos. In fact, we may be showing up differently with our kids, maybe more negatively, because of these stories that we’ve created.

Let’s overcome these myths with truths then, so we can show up for ourselves and for our kids!

Replace the myth “I don’t have time” with “I will make the time.”

Replace the myth “I don’t know how to do it” with “There are resources out there to help me learn.” In fact, let me help you! Check out my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success freebie at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie to get started today. Included are five of the strategies that I use in my signature potty training course!

Replace the myth “My child will struggle” with “The right potty training strategies will help my child successfully potty train.” (Again, check out that freebie for strategies to help prevent the struggle.)

Replace the myth “It will take forever” with “I can get to successful potty training in ease with an action plan.” And then just get started.

Replace the myth “It’s too complicated” with “It doesn’t have to be.” And I can help you make potty training not so complicated with my Potty Training Made Easy course (www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy).

Potty Training Made Easy is really a how-to course for potty training from beginning to end, which means you’ve got the support to get potty training DONE… which is the ultimate goal, right? I walk you through the step-by-step process for how to potty train, plus all of the bells and whistles to help get your child to that success (and to help keep your mama brain organized and up to speed)! With my course I really remove time wasted trying to figure out how to get it done. The best part? These methods are backed by science and delivered by me, an expert, so you really will feel relaxed, at ease, and confident when it’s go time for your toddler.

With a game plan in place, with the know-how, you won’t worry about potty training being overly complicated. You won’t worry about not knowing how to do it. You won’t be concerned about i t taking forever because you know your child will get there. You won’t worry about your child struggling because you’ll be prepared and do it smart.

To get started on the right foot, grab my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review (it really helps me out!), and share with your besties who are also potty training!

Let’s connect!

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Hi there! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. As a parent, one of my philosophies in life is to work smarter and not harder. With this pandemic that we are in, this philosophy is really hitting home since our lives have gotten turned upside down. And I want you to work smarter and not harder so you can save that precious energy, not get frustrated with your kids while stuck at home with them all day, and enjoy the free time you have with your family. So, if you’re a parent of a toddler, I’ve got a way for you to work smarter now which will reap those rewards that I just mentioned both now and later. Let’s chat about why NOW is the perfect time to potty train your child, shall we?

And since we are talking about potty training today, go grab my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success so you can get started today! You can grab that guide at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie.

Let’s get to it! Let’s head to the show!

Let’s first talk about the practical side for why now is the perfect time to potty train: 1) you’re already stuck at home with your kids so you might as well make good use of your time; 2) you probably have more time to devote to potty training that you normally would; 3) because we are quarantined, you’re likely not going anywhere which makes managing potty training much easier; and 4) you will probably never have this amount of time set aside ever again.

From a practical standpoint, it’s a no-brainer to potty train now.

For those who operate a bit more logically, I’ve got good reason for why now is the perfect time to potty train. The biggest (and most important) reason is the fact that you will need to have extra time devoted to potty training in order to follow through with your potty sit schedule.

Not sure what a potty sit schedule is? In my Potty Training Made Easy course, I walk you through all components of potty training via my step-by-step guide, including what a potty sit schedule is, how to use it, and all the other goodies that come along with potty training. Take a peek at the course and get started today at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy.

But of course there are other logical reasons for why now is the time to potty train: you’ll need extra time to teach all of the bathroom etiquette (like wiping); potty training is a learning process for you child so it does take time; and you’ll have extra time to deal with any setbacks along the way.

And, of course, we can’t forget all of the benefits of getting potty training out of the way now: once we are done with social distancing, you’ll have a potty trained child and will be free to go out and about as you please without worrying about accidents! Truthfully, who would want to mess with potty training once the quarantine is over? Not me!

Doesn’t it sound great to enjoy life with a potty trained kiddo?! Download my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie to get started today!

So let’s work smarter not harder and use the time we have wisely. For immediate helpful tips to get your started towards that success, snag my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success at www.bit.ly/pottytraininggfreebie.

And just imagine: you could have a potty trained toddler by the end of all of this social distancing and quarantine!

Please share the love! Share with your friends, leave a review, and don’t forget to subscribe!

Let’s connect!

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Hello, hello! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. Can you believe that this is our final episode of my series to support you during this COVID-19 pandemic? I feel like so much life has happened within these past four weeks. Phew. How are you doing with it all? I hope you’re not only hanging in there but thriving.

In today’s episode I am sharing how we can use this time at home so incredibly wisely with our kids. I think we’ve all learned (or have been reminded) that life happens, and sometimes we need to go back to our roots and a much simpler lifestyle. So today I’m talking about using this time that we have at home with our kids to teach them the ever-important life skills that they will need now and later on in life.

Before we jump to it, I want to let you know about an amazing freebie I have for you… to help teach your young child an important life skill. I’m talking about potty training of course! Check out my 5 Secrets to Potty Training success at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie to ditch the diapers today!

Now let’s talk about those life skills, shall we? Let’s go to the show!

What are life skills? They are those skills that we need for everyday life. Daily living skills if you will. During this pandemic I’m seeing people focus more on life skills: people desiring to farm more; having to do house tasks instead of hiring it out; homeschooling; etc.

We are very clearly seeing a NEED for teaching our children life skills during these uncertain times: to save money; to keep social distancing/avoid contact; due to businesses being closed.

We want to teach our child life skills so that they know how to complete tasks for themselves, be as self-sufficient as possible and as appropriate. This is true for children of all ages.

Potty training is a perfect skill for toddlers to have. And hey, you can save that money that you would have spent on diapers! Check out my 5 Secrets to Potty Training Success freebie to get started today at www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie.

As we teach our children important life skills, the skills become more advanced as children become older. Children may learn how to clean and bathe themselves. Middle schoolers may learn how to prepare and cut food. Teens may learn how to budget. As children grow up, their life skills become more advanced.

Here are a few different life skills you can begin teaching your children at home:

Making the bed
Setting the table
Doing laundry
Washing hands
Tying shoes
Yard work

For younger children, think about the things you do for them on a daily basis that they will eventually do themselves, and begin teaching those skills. For older kids, think about the skills that require more responsibility (like cutting the grass and banking).

When you do teach your children these skills, you can use a lot of different strategies: visual aids, a step-by-step list, modeling, providing reminders, etc. It’s very important to be more hands on with the teaching up front and then gradually be more hands off as your child learns the skill.

Truthfully, this is an opportunity for us to really use our time wisely with our kids. We are at home with our kid anyway so why not teach them those important life skills that will set them up for success in the future?

To begin teaching the skill of potty training, check out my freebie (www.bit.ly/pottytrainingfreebie) and my Potty Training Made Easy course (www.bit.ly/pottytrainingmadeeasy).

And if you need more ideas to keep your kids occupied and engaged during this time of social distancing, check out my activities list freebie at www.bit.ly/activitiesfreebie.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. This is week three of four of my podcast support for you during this COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve talked about parenting positively amidst all of the negativity around us. We’ve talked about using daily schedules to our advantage to curb those unwanted behaviors. And today we are talking about activities to keep our kids busy during this time of social distancing. I don’t know about you but for me keeping my son occupied without playing with other children has been a difficult thing for this mama to overcome. I’ll fill you in on the details later on.

Before we head to the show, I have a freebie that tags along perfectly to our topic today. It’s my Activities for Keeping Unideal Behavior at Bay. You can download that at www.bit.ly/activitiesfreebie or www.lauralynnlapointe.com/activitiesfreebie

Now let’s get to it! Let’s head to the show!

This pandemic has caused physical, emotional, mental, and financial trauma throughout the world, and I don’t take that lightly. But parents are also experiencing their own problems or difficulties at home.

Usually we can handle our kids telling us they're bored, and under usual circumstances, we have plenty of activities to keep our kids occupied. But in these times we have to keep our distance from others. That means: not going out and about like we used to, restricting playing with other kids in the neighborhood, and overall not really getting to interact with other kids or other parents.

On top of that, a lot of children don’t really understand social distancing, so it makes it that much more difficult. Plus, we are trying to work from home, and that’s tough.

Luckily I’ve got a freebie that is full of different activities that don’t break the bank, that require lots of things we already have laying around at home, that are educational, and that could take up a good chunk of time. It’s my Activities for Keeping Unideal Behavior at Bay downloadable list and it’s available at www.bit.ly/activitiesfreebie.

It’s full of examples, like building a house out of recycled materials, baking a dessert from scratch, and making and testing a parachute. Plus, it includes activities that are based in STEM: science, technology, engineering, math, which makes them educational in nature.

But what’s amazing is that we may have a hidden solution here.

It is not just that these activities take up our kids’ time so we can get our work done. They may also decrease those unwanted behaviors like whining, tattling, or tantrums.

Why? Because when our kids are busy with activities, they are occupied. They have something to do. They are engaged. When they are engaged, they are less likely to have those pesky fights with siblings or constantly ask for a snack or whine to you that they are bored.

And this means you can get your work done (without it being midnight). You can enjoy your cup of coffee. You can overhear your children giggling and playing. It’s fun. It’s better!

Now don’t add more on your to-do list with trying to find a list of fun ideas for your kids. Instantly download my freebie www.bit.ly/activitiesfreebie or www.lauralynnlapointe.com/activitiesfreebie.

And remember, these are fun ideas to keep your kids occupied and engaged so you can be kept sane.

But if you’re still having issues with challenging behaviors at home, check out my Regain Control course available at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Hello, hello! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. This week I am continuing with sharing tips, advice, and support for you parents during this COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of us, and most of us parents in the United States, now hold the responsibility of continuing the education of our children at home. Aside from the financial crisis we may face, our fears about becoming ill, and the burden of working from home with kids around, acquiring the new lifestyle of becoming “teacher” can be extremely daunting. That’s why in this episode I’m talking all about the one thing that can help you educate your children with ease, minimize those unwanted behaviors, and help you acquire this new teacher lifestyle with simplicity.

Before we got to the show, I want to share with you another great resource I have for these trying times. If you need new ideas of activities for keeping your kids busy so you can have a much needed break, check out my Activities for Keeping Unideal Behavior at Bay! You can download it for free at www.bit.ly/activitiesfreebie or www.lauralynnlapointe.com/activitiesfreebie.

Let’s head on to it! Let’s go to the show!

Today I want to talk about the one thing to help you educate your children with ease. It’s having a schedule. I’ve been in lots of classrooms as a behavior analyst, and a classroom schedule is one of the main things I look for when working in a classroom. Why? Because a set schedule is likely to decrease those unwanted problem behaviors (like being off-task, goofing off, getting in trouble with peers, playing inappropriately with materials).

Since you now have your own sort of classroom, it makes sense for your children to have a schedule at home.

This sudden change of being our child’s teacher may be a tough pill to swallow for most of us. We don’t feel equipped. We weren’t prepared. We were blinded by this sudden change.

We have lots of questions: What do I teach them? How do I teach them? How much time in a day do I teach them?

I want to assure you that your home education during the pandemic doesn’t have to look like the typical 8:00-3:00 school schedule.

Your children don’t need to be doing “seat work” for eight straight hours each day. What’s important is that they retain the information that they learned this past school year, especially related to reading, writing, and math.

It’s also a great idea to include some hands-on learning activities, like baking a cake or flying a kite. And I’ve got LOADS of ideas for you in my latest Activities freebie. You can find that at www.bit.ly/activitiesfreebie.

When it comes to building your at home school schedule, think about your child’s typical school schedule. What does it include? Snack? Recess? Extracurriculars like art, P.E., music, or language? You can incorporate some of those things into your child’s school day, along with the typical reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.

But I can’t say it enough: don’t expect your child to be seated at the kitchen table for 8 hours per day. Really think about what works best for you and your kiddo.

I also highly suggest interspersing seat work with breaks or more fun activities. So, once your child works on their handwriting, they can then have a snack, play, or do another fun activity.

It’s also a really good idea to incorporate movement with their school subjects. Instead of reviewing their multiplication facts while seated inside, they could make a game out of it while outside.

And let me remind you: your family’s at home school schedule may look different than other families’ because of your other obligations (e.g., working from home, having other children to tend to).

This schooling doesn’t have to be perfect. Really, your family’s schooling is perfect as long as it fits your family’s needs. If you’re still having issues (like whining, not wanting to do their work, being resistant, etc.) with your children at home during school time, snag my 3 Parenting Hacks at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie to download your guide to easy strategies for helping improve behavior. And if you need some strategies with a little more meat, check out my Regain Control course. It’s filled with specific easy-to-use strategies to help you manage and decrease those behaviors and enjoy time with your kids again. Check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Remember, I’ve got your back. I’m here to support you.

Think about your other parent friends and tell them about the podcast! And don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review.

Let’s connect!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. Our world has taken a sudden turn, hasn’t it? Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s uncertainty. There’s fear. There’s doubt. There’s worry. Yet, there are also positives to be found in these circumstances: good people helping out their neighbor. Citizens following safety standards to protect the community. Parents devoting their extra time to educating their children. I wish to be part of the positive side. Within my next four episodes, I will be sharing tips, advice, and support for all of us parents who are in the middle of this uncertainty. It IS possible to parent positively amid the chaos and this crisis.

But before we dive in, I am happy to announce the winners of the Regain Control Giveaway. Chris, Chelsea and Monica are the lucky winners of my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! Now that you’re spending A LOT more time with your children, this will be your go-to course to help you deal with daunting behaviors and help you regain ease in your parenting. Check it out at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow or www.lauralynnlapointe.com/regaincontrol.

Let’s jump to it! Let’s go to the show!

This is a time of uncertainty, doubt, and fear in our world. What we know is ever changing.

Being a parent doesn’t make us immune to the doubt and fear. We still feel these things, and it’s okay that we feel these things. But how can we parent positively amid the crisis?

First off, we need to realize that our children are watching how we are responding in these situations. Our children are not only observing our words (how we speak about the pandemic, they are also watching our actions. Are we helping our neighbor? Are we following safety standards?

As parents, we tend to forget that one way our children learn is by observation. Right now, they are observing, and potentially learning, how to respond in a stressful and uncertain situation.

So I ask you, what do we want our children to learn?

Parenting positively also means that we need to give ourselves some slack. With suddenly schooling our children at home and keeping them occupied while maintaining social distancing, this can be a very taxing time on our parenting.

So let’s give ourselves some grace and slack!

During this trying time, I’ve got your back! Check out my 3 Easy Parenting Hacks to help you along in this journey. Grab your instant download at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie!

Be sure to also check out my Regain control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow if you’re ready to learn some new parenting strategies to tackle some of those unwanted behaviors at home. What a perfect time to learn and begin practicing these new positive parenting strategies!

This is the new normal for us, at least for the time being. So let’s think positively, shall we?! Remember, we get to choose how we will respond and we don’t need to feel bad for feeling the way we feel.

Like I mentioned earlier, I will be sharing tips, advice, and support for your parenting in my next three episodes. You’ll learn how to manage behavior with schedules, about different activities to do with your kids while upholding social distancing, and how to use this time as an opportunity to teach your children important life skills.

I’ve got your back. I’m here to support you!

Check out my Regain control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow for more positive parenting strategies to add to your parenting toolbox.

Be sure to share the podcast with your friends and subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss out on upcoming episodes. Bonus points to you if you leave a review!

Let’s connect!

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Hello lovely parents! I’m so happy that you’re here joining me on The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. Today, let’s chat about helping yourself FIRST in this parent-child dynamic, shall we? As parents, it is so EASY for us to put ourselves last – myself definitely included here and I’ll tell you how – but today I’m going to argue that we NEED to put ourselves first… and when we do, it not only helps us, it also serves our kids in a BIG way!

As a reminder, our Regain Control giveaway has ended and I’ll be announcing the three lucky winners on next week’s episode and via email… so stay tuned! Be sure to check out my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Alright, let’s get to it! Let’s go to the show!

As parents, we tend to put ourselves last and our children first. But we need to put ourselves first to feel confident and empowered in our parenting. And this is important because when we feel confident and empowered in our parenting, we show up differently for our kids.

But how do we get to those feelings of confidence and empowerment?

Hello STRATEGY!

Strategy is not throwing tactics at our kids and seeing what will stick. It’s not a guessing game. Strategy is all about using techniques that work and that are known to work (hello science of behavior).

And strategy doesn’t have to be hard. It can be really, really easy… like the 3 hacks that I outline in my freebie: 3 Easy Parenting Hacks. You can download those 3 hacks now at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

Strategy can also be easy, intentional, and specific. That’s why I created my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course, so you can have specific strategies ready at your fingertips to help you gain that confidence and empowerment that you're looking for in your parenting. Check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow or www.lauralynnlapointe.com/regaincontrol.

Ultimately, strategy helps us feel confident and empowered because the strategy gives us a game plan, it gives us structure, it gives us the know-how, it’s our backbone to parenting. But also, when we use specific techniques that are known to work, our kids behave better which only helps us feel confident and helps us continue to use those same strategies to get those same results (hey, hey improved behavior) that we want!

So put on your strategy oxygen mask first because we need to feel confident and empowered in our parenting. And remember, the way we can feel confident and empowered in our parenting is by the strategies that we are using.

To learn some super easy, specific, and intentional strategies, check out my Regain Control course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow .

I’d love for you to leave a review, share with friends, and subscribe to the podcast.

Let’s connect!

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Hello, hello! Thank you so much for joining me on The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast. Family life at home can get super crazy, and I know that we’ve all tried a million different ways – from schedules and planners, outsourcing tasks like house cleaning, utilizing grocery delivery services, you name it – to create more calm and get rid of the chaos. So in today’s episode I’m sharing ways that I create more calm in parenting – specifically dealing with toddler behavior – within my own home and how you can too!

Before we head to the show, we have one week left of the Regain Control giveaway. That’s right… I’m giving away 3 spots of my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! The giveaway ends at midnight on March 16th, and you’ll want to score all the entries you can if you’re ready for EASY parenting strategies that can help you go from feeling overwhelmed to feeling like you’ve got this and are in control at home. Sign up now at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolgiveaway to get all the details!

Now let’s head to the show!

Being the behavior lady that I am, or whatever else you want to call me, I’ve been using a bunch of strategies in my home to create more calm and peace and joy.

Some of the strategies that I use in my own home include: a family calendar, a menu board, meal planning, grocery pick-up, set schedules, and tidying up at the end of the day. All of these strategies help keep me sane and help me stay calm.

Aside from these simple and straightforward strategies, we also want to create calm in our parenting with our child’s behavior. It gets overwhelming dealing with unwanted behavior like whining, crying, sibling fights, arguments, and negotiations.

When we are overwhelmed, we get stressed, we’re not calm, we’re not joyful, and we’re more negative. Yuck! But in order to create calm we’ve got to deal with the unwanted behavior. We need to learn a new way of handling inappropriate and unwanted behaviors. We need to learn a more effective way of managing it. This is where our behavior strategies come in.

For some simple and easy-to-use behavioral strategies to help you deal with unwanted behavior RIGHT NOW, download my 3 Parenting Tips & Tricks freebie! Here you’ll get your hands on three easy hacks to help you deal with those pesky behaviors and help you create that calm you’ve been looking for. You can download the freebie at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

For me, I rely on lots of strategies to help me create that calm in my own life and at home. Providing praise, providing clear expectations, and utilizing the 3… 2… 1… strategy help me manage my child’s behavior and help me stay calm, joyful, and happy. And I’m able to stay joyful and calm because behavior is better! The struggle isn’t there!

While I shared a few specific strategies I use in my own home, there’s a ton more that I use. I use these strategies because they help me create that calm, peace, and joy at home. And I want you to create that same calm and peace at home. That’s why I created the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course, which is filled with specific strategies that are easy to use and that directly target the specific behaviors that you’re struggling with at home, from tantrums, to whining, to talking about, to sibling fights, you name it. And we know that when we actually deal with these behaviors instead of just pushing through, we are finally able to create that peace at home… all because we have tools that work at getting rid of these unwanted behaviors! Check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow. And don’t forget about the giveaway for your chance to win the course for FREE!

So here’s the deal: there’s a difference in the days I don’t use strategies and the days I do use them. There’s a night and day difference. So let’s begin using these strategies that work, shall we?!

If you’re ready for a sure fire way to create calm in parenting, then you need to rely on strategies that work. And you will be more calm because the strategies will work and your child’s behavior won’t be as bothersome anymore. Now head on over to www.bit.ly/regaincontrolgiveaway to enter the giveaway for your chance to win my strategies course for FREE!

And, as always, I’d love for you to leave a review (it’ll earn you an extra point in the giveaway), share with friends, and subscribe to the podcast.

Let’s connect!

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Hello there! Laura Lynn LaPointe here! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today’s episode is all about how to avoid this “trial and error” style of parenting, and honestly, this is a big topic that all of us parents need to talk about… myself included… because it is so easy to get caught in this style of parenting. So grab your cup of coffee, your notebook and pen, and let’s really dig deep into how we can avoid trial and error, second guessing, throwing tactics at the wall to see what will stick, and instead find specific strategies that actually work with our kids. And when we do this, we’ll find that we aren’t wasting any more of our precious time, our child will actually respond to the strategies, and we’ll have that confidence back in our parenting.

Before we get to the episode, I want to remind you all about the giveaway going on! I’m giving away not one but THREE spots to my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! This course was made for you if you’re ready to start with some easy-to-use but super effective parenting strategies to target and prevent behaviors like pouting, complaining, or cleaning up toys. No more feeling clueless about how to manage your child’s behavior with this course! Come check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow but more importantly, come enter the giveaway at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolgiveaway so you can score a chance at winning one of those free spots to my course! Entering is super-duper easy! Rack up your entries by entering into the giveaway, leaving a review on The Parenting Clubhouse podcast, and sharing your welcome email with friends! The more ways you enter, the more points you earn, and the top three people with the most points win! Seriously, come enter the giveaway at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolgiveaway before the giveaway ends on March 16th! What do you have to lose?!

Now back to the episode!

As busy parents, it’s easy to get caught in a “trial and error” style of parenting. We’re tired, we don’t always know how to handle our child’s behavior, and we may just be trying strategies that other parents do.

But there’s a problem with this trial and error parenting. We lack consistency. We aren’t completely devoted to the strategies that we are using. We second guess our parenting decisions. We don’t give the strategies the time that they need to work. And overall, we aren’t using specific strategies and we have no game plan.

This trial and error style of parenting simply doesn’t work. It lowers our confidence and increases our frustration. The unwanted behavior continues.

So let’s throw this trial and error parenting out the window and instead use strategies that work. Strategies can be as simple as providing praise or providing choices. If you need some help brainstorming some simple strategies that can really work, download my 3 Parenting Tips & Tricks freebie! Here you’ll get your hands on three hacks to help with lots of behaviors. You can download the freebie at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

Sometimes we may need more intentional strategies to help us manage our child’s behavior. My Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course is filled with specific strategies that are easy to use and that directly target the specific behaviors that you’re struggling with at home, from tantrums, to whining, to talking about, to sibling fights, you name it. Plus, each model comes with a handout that walks you through the most important takeaways and helps you begin applying the strategies in your home. Check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow. And don’t forget about the giveaway for your chance to win the course for FREE!

Here’s the deal. When we implement these more intentional, yet easy, strategies, we are more consistent with them, we are more devoted to the strategies, and because of that, they are more likely to work. And when they work, that unwanted behavior goes down. Now we feel confident and empowered in our parenting, and parenting finally feels easier!

It’s time we get rid of the uncertainty and confusion that the trial and error style of parenting brings. Instead, let’s handle behavior with specific and intentional strategies, like those within my Regain Control course. Don’t forget that you can win the course during my giveaway! Head on over to www.bit.ly/regaincontrolgiveaway to enter the giveaway!

And, as always, I’d love for you to leave a review (it’ll earn you an extra point in the giveaway), share with friends, and subscribe to the podcast.

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Hello, hello! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Can you believe this is the fourth and last episode of the “my child doesn’t follow directions” series? And how about it being the 50th episode?! Whoooooo! I know that learning a new parenting strategy can be tough, and we always want to know how we can get our children to listen in different scenarios and environments. So today I’m going to give you loads of examples for how you can get your kids to listen. I’m talking different ages of kids, different scenarios, and when in different environments.

Now back to the episode!

Since this is our last episode in the series, let’s do a quick recap of the last three episodes:

Not having a strategy, or having an effective strategy leads to trouble. Our children are going to continue not following our directions if we don’t do something different that works.
We have to understand “why” our children are not following our directions. Is it because they don’t understand? They don’t hear us? They are too focused or distracted by a project or TV? Do they lack the motivation to follow our instructions?
We can use the tell - show - do strategy to get our children to follow our directions. We first give a clear instruction. If they don’t follow, we can show them what we mean. If they still don’t complete the instruction, we can guide them to complete the instruction.

To get ahold of some new strategies that can help your child follow directions, download my 3 Parenting Tips & Tricks freebie! You’ll get instant access to three hacks that can not only help you child follow directions but also help with loads of other behaviors. You can download the freebie at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

There are a few things we want to keep in mind when we are addressing following directions with our children, regardless of age, scenario, or environment. We always want to remain calm and provide a clear instruction. If our child is being defiant or sassy, we need to avoid feeding into that negativity. If possible, it’s a good idea to make eye contact with our child when delivering the instruction. Consistency is key; if we want this strategy to work, we have to be consistent with it. And we need to be aware of our child’s “why” so we can address any problems.

I really hit some of these exact points (and TONS more) in my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. Why? Because they work and they can be so dang effective! The course includes five modules worth of specific strategies that can help your child to follow directions AND help with tons of other behaviors like junk behavior, minor tantrums, crying, sibling fights, etc. Plus, each model comes with a handout that walks you through the most important takeaways and helps you begin applying the strategies in your home. Check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow. And don’t forget about the giveaway!

If we are implementing tell-show-do with our young kiddos (think of ages 2-8), there are a few things we want to keep in mind. We are teaching them so much when we are using this strategy. We may be teaching them a new skill or teaching them to follow our directions. It’s really important to praise our children for following directions so they keep doing it in the future! And when we are using tell-show-do, it’s important to repeat our instruction as we move through the steps to help our child learn better.

For our older kiddos (think of ages 9-13), we want to remain calm even if our moody child isn’t calm. Adding any negativity will only escalate the problem and fan the flame. We can also praise our older children for following directions, but in a different way. For example, we can say, “I really appreciate you putting your dishes in the sink.” or “Thank you for putting your dishes in the dishwasher. That really helps me out.” And keep in mind that it’s okay to use rewards to help out, like if our kids don’t like doing their chores or following a routine.

When in different scenarios or different environments, it’s important to continue to be consistent and to implement the procedures as planned. If you’re worried about what other parents may think, I bet they will notice that you are implementing a very specific and strategic technique, and they’ll be impressed!

I hope you enjoyed these four episodes all about getting your children to follow directions. My goal for you is to take these four episodes and get moving! Decide today that you’re going to work on following directions with your kiddos, use the info in the episodes to help you, and go do it! But if you need a little help, the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior courses is a PERFECT resource to help you accomplish your goals by using specific positive strategies. And don’t forget about the giveaway! Check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow, and be sure to tell your friends about the giveaway!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you can learn if you’ve won the giveaway! I’d love it if you’d leave a review, and don’t forget to share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Hey there! Thank you for joining me on today’s episode which is all about using an easy strategy to get your child to listen! And as you know, this is the third episode of the “my children don’t follow directions” series. So today I’m going to walk you through the exact strategy I use to not only get my child to listen and follow directions but how I get my clients to do the same!

But before we jump in, I want to tell you all about the giveaway I’m doing! I’m giving away not one but THREE spots to my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! And this course is PERFECT for you if you’re needing new parenting strategies that are easy to use and that could help get rid of those annoying, unwanted behaviors like complaining, whining, and acting like a baby. Come check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow but more importantly, come enter the giveaway at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolgiveaway so you can score a chance at winning one of those free spots to my course! And entering is easy! Rack up your entries by entering into the giveaway, leaving a review on The Parenting Clubhouse podcast, and sharing your welcome email with friends! The more ways you enter, the more points you earn, and the top three people with the most points win! Seriously, come enter the giveaway at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolgiveaway! What do you have to lose?!

Okay, now let’s jump into the episode!

While today’s episode is all about the “how,” we don’t want to forget the “why”: Why is our child not following our directions? Because that’s the first important piece of the puzzle. If we don’t know or understand the “why” or if we haven’t addressed the “why,” our “how” won’t be as effective.

If you’re ready to address some of your child’s “whys” right now with specific strategies, download my 3 Parenting Tips & Tricks freebie to get instant access to three hacks that can not only help you child follow directions but also help with loads of other behaviors. You can download the freebie at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie.

And what we know is that we need to deliver effective instructions. We need to avoid delivering our directions as questions. We need to be sure that we are in close proximity to our children when we do deliver an instruction. We need to avoid instructions that are too complex. And we need to make sure that our children understand our instructions. And these are some of the exact points that I talk about in my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course.

What I love about the course is that it includes specific strategies that can help your child to follow directions but also helps with tons of other behaviors like, junk behavior, minor tantrums, crying, sibling fights, etc. Plus, each model comes with a handout that walks you through the most important takeaways and helps you begin applying the strategies in your home. Check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

So, how to get your child to follow directions. The strategy that I use inside and outside the home is called tell-show-do. We first “tell” our child what to do, while making sure that we deliver an effective instruction. Once we’ve given our child 5-10 seconds to following the instruction, we then show our child what to do: we repeat the instruction and point or model what it is that we want our child to do. Once we’ve given our child 5-10 seconds to follow the model, we then help our child complete the task by guiding him to do whatever it is that we’ve said.

What’s really great about this specific strategy is that not only is it really effective at teaching our child a new skill, but we are also teaching our child how to follow a direction. We’re teaching our child that we mean business when we give an instruction and that our child needs to follow through.

While there may be a number of techniques or a variation of techniques depending on the situation, we need to remember the “why” behind why our child isn’t following our direction, and make sure that our technique is addressing that why.

I’m so pumped for you to not only begin using this strategy at home but also to enter into the giveaway for a chance to win one of the three Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior courses that I’m giving away! Check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow and be sure to tell your friends ALL about the giveaway and this series!

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss out on the rest of this series and so you can be reminded of all the details of the giveaway! I’d love it if you’d leave a review, and don’t forget to share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

On Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

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Hey there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! We are continuing with our second episode of the “my child doesn’t follow directions” series. I am pumped about today’s episode because we are going to understand WHY our children don’t follow our directions. Because once we understand the “why” we can actually do something effective to target the problem. And let’s be real: we are done with the drama, the sass, the arguing, the back talk, the negotiating, and we’re definitely tired of completing the task ourselves. So let’s get at this “why” so we can have a child who listens and follows directions without sass, shall we?

But first, I want to fill you in on a little secret! I’m doing a giveaway within the coming weeks! I’m giving away not one, not two, but THREE of my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! Stayed tuned to the podcast within the next few weeks so you can learn how to enter the giveaway. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure you don’t miss the next episode, and check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow to get excited for the giveaway!

In the last episode (and the first episode in this series) we talked all about the typical scenario of our children not following our directions: lots of yelling, arguing, negotiating, back talk, refusing to follow the direction, or just plain not listening to us. There can be lots of negativity when our children don’t follow our directions. But with this negativity comes a lack of strategy to really handle the situation, and with a lack of strategy, this cycle continues. If you’re tired of having no strategy and are ready to jump into some easy strategy now, download my freebie at www.bit.ly/3tipsfreebie to get instant access to three hacks that I use within my own home and hat can help you deal with a kiddo who isn’t following directions!

For today, we are here to understand why our children are not following our directions, and there could be lots of reasons! Our instructions may not be clear, our instructions may be too complex (like multi-step instructions), our children may not understand what we’ve asked them to do, our children may not be focused on what we are saying or is busy watching TV, our children may not know how to do the task we’ve asked, and sometimes, our children may just not want to do the task at all because of a lack of motivation. For most of these examples, the “why” behind why our children aren’t following our directions has a lot to do with the environment. I HIGHLY suggest taking a listen to Episode 13: What’s the Environment Got To Do with It (one of my favorite episodes) to get a grasp on how things going on in the environment can affect child behavior. You can check out that episode at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/blog/whats-the-environment-got-to-do-with-it.

The key here is that once we understand our child better, we can whip out those parenting techniques and strategies that work! We can phrase effective statements. We can use praise. We can avoid providing attention to that inappropriate, junky behavior. We can use preventative strategies like first-then statements, choices, and timers. We can also use rewards if our children need some extra motivation. In fact, these are all things that I teach inside my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course!

What I love about the course is that it includes super easy-to-use strategies that can help with a variety of behaviors: not following directions, minor tantrums, junky behavior, whining, sibling rivalry, etc. The added bonus is that the strategies are super easy to use but can make a really big impact and difference in your lives! Plus, the course includes handouts to really help you begin implementing these strategies at home so you can start seeing some results! Check out the course at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

As I always say, knowledge is power. Once we understand the “why,” we can do something about the problem, we can do something about our children not following directions. When we understand the “why,” we can pop in a specific strategy, like phrasing effective statements that I talk about in my course. Come see what the course is about at www.bit.ly/regaincontrolnow.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss out on the rest of this series and so you hear all of the details of the giveaway! I’d love it if you’d leave a review, and don’t forget to share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today marks the beginning of February and the beginning of “my child doesn’t follow directions” series. Beginning today and for the next three episodes we are talking about all things related to our children not following our directions. I’m super pumped about this topic because I know it’s what you’re really needing and wanting. I hopped onto social media a few weeks ago and polled some parents to see what it is that they are really struggling with at home, and the resounding answer was children who don’t follow directions. Today, we are beginning this series by talking about what to do when our child doesn’t follow our directions, and what we should do is probably different than what are are actually doing, so take a listen! Don’t forget to check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! Let’s jump in!

Here’s a typical scenario of our children not following our directions. We tell our child to clean up. Our child says nothing. We repeat ourselves, repeat ourselves, and repeat ourselves. Our child still does nothing. We may get louder and change the tone of our voice. At this point, our child may be downright ignoring us. We confront our child by getting in close proximity to him. We may yell at our child, and our child may yell back at us. Our child tries to negotiate and argue with us to get out of picking up those toys. And sometimes, our child straight up says “no.”

What we have here is a sticky situation that leads to trouble down the road. Our child is not following directions and will continue to not follow directions because our child is able to get out of it. As parents, we continue to respond in the same way; that’s what we’ve been doing and that’s what we will continue to do. Ultimately, we AND our children are responding in an emotional way, and this emotion sometimes heightens and gets worse as time goes on.

The real problem is that we are lacking strategy. What we are currently doing is not working. We yell. We negotiate. Our child gets out of picking up those toys. We’re responding emotionally. But sometimes, all we need to do is make some minor tweaks, implement some easy strategies, and we can have a much more positive situation on our hands.

To get some instant strategy, download my 3 Tips & Tricks freebie! The instant download includes three positive strategies that I use in my own home and that can help you deal with a kiddo who isn’t following directions!

If we continue down this road of lack of strategy, we will continue to feel beaten up, frustrated, uncertain, fearful that the problem will continue, and exhausted because, let’s be real, we are the ones who end up picking up all those toys at the end of the night.

What we can actually do to see improvements is to change our way of thinking about the situation and to gain some strategy to deal with the problem. What we are currently doing isn’t working, so why continue? Instead, we need a strategy to help us see some results!

I created my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course because I wanted to give parents easy strategies at their fingertips to help tackle some of life’s challenges at home! Within the course I include five modules, all of which are packed with specific and easy strategies that can help get at the problem of our children not following directions. And what I’ve learned over the years is that sometimes, the easiest and most simple strategies are just the ticket to changing behavior and getting our kiddos to follow our directions.

So instead of being stuck inside this negative hole of our children not following directions, let’s actually get at it and do something about it. Let’s pick up some new strategies, give those a shot, and see what sticks! Remember, sometimes with minor tweaks to our parenting we can see major results. To help you with some new strategies, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course and begin dealing with this problem in a new way!

And stay tuned for the next three episodes of The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast where we will continue our follow directions series! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave a review and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Hello there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! I’m pumped to talk about that negative parenting spiral and how we can avoid it. Let’s face it. Parenting is TOUGH, and it’s easy to get caught in that negative rabbit hole. So today let’s chat about ways we can avoid that negative parenting spiral and instead be more positive, enjoy our children more, have more fun with our parenting, and feel a heck of a lot more confident. For extra help, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! Let’s jump in!

That negative parenting spiral can look like a lot of different things: frustration with our kids, eye-rolling at our sassy middle schoolers, arguing, negotiating back and forth, exhaustion, yelling at our children, feeling emotional and crying, feeling like we are giving up. When we feel all these things and do all of these things, we are headed downhill in our parenting.

Here’s the thing. When we are stuck in that negative parenting spiral, we aren’t actually using parenting strategies. Instead, we are just falling back to a typical response that has no long-term results, is fear-based, and is the easy way out. To move beyond that, we need actual parenting strategies to get us out. Strategies that are not fear-based and that actually have long-term results.

Come download my 3 Tips & Tricks freebie to add some positive strategies immediately into your day! The instant download includes three positive strategies that I use in my own home!

We all know that being positive is better. We are happier and we feel better. And we feel better because we are using positive strategies that are working, and we feel that success. We feel less guilty and we are more confident in our parenting. We can finally see the fruits of our labor.

I want you to feel that success in your parenting, and I want you to experience parenting in its abundance! That’s why I created my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! The course is jam-packed with with positive parenting strategies that are easy to use, and each module includes a workbook to help you learn the strategies and begin using them in your own home!

To actually avoid the negative parenting spiral, we need to have actual strategies that we are using, and not just say, “I’m gonna be a better parent.” or “I’m gonna be more positive.” Once we are using actual strategies we can then monitor our own parenting behavior to see how we are doing. We can take data on ourself to see if we are making improvements, we can set parenting goals for ourselves, and then we can reward ourselves for accomplishing those goals!

If we want to move beyond this negative way of being, we need to focus on the strategies that will get us there, and then monitor and continue to improve ourselves. Sure, it’ll take time, but won’t it be great to have fun in your parenting again?

We don’t have to be stuck in this negative spiral. There are ways out. With the right strategies and continued evaluation, we can get there! For some easy go-to strategies for your back pocket, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course and begin making that switch today!

And get pumped for The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast in February, when I’ll be talking all about how to handle when our children don’t follow directions!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Hello there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Have you ever wondered why your child behaves differently, and maybe more appropriately, at school or daycare than she does at home? It’s frustrating, isn’t it, to hear that your child is an angel at school - following directions, being a good example to other students, and sharing with peers - but then have your child act like a holy terror at home - not following directions, not getting along with siblings, and being really sassy. Today I want to share one reason for why your child may behave differently at school or daycare. Be sure to check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! Let’s jump in!

For some of us, our children may behave really appropriately at school or daycare and behave not so appropriately at home. For those of you with preschoolers and young kiddos, at daycare your child may get along with peers, may share and take turns, and may help their peers, but at home, your child may fight with siblings, hog toys, and be not so positive toward her siblings. For those of you with school-aged children, at school your child may follow the classroom rules, follow the teacher’s directions, is pleasant to be around, and is the class helper, but at home, your child may not follow your directions, may disobey you, and may be overall nasty and have a bad attitude.

When we are dealing with a not so pleasant child at home, we may feel like we are doing something wrong, especially if our child is well-behaved at school. We may also feel embarrassed about our child’s behavior. We may feel like a bad parent for not getting our kid under control. And we may also feel guilty that we can’t get our child to behave at home, especially if they can be well-behaved at school.

There could be a reason for why your child behaves well at school but not at home. Actually, there could be lots of reasons for this. I highly suggest you check out episode 13 which is all about what the environment has to do with your child’s behavior. This episode will shed a lot of light into how different environments can affect your child’s behavior.

Like I said, one reason for why your child behaves appropriately at school may be that the teacher is using really effective tools, strategies, routines and schedules that help make your child really successful in the classroom. As parents, we may not be using these same tools and strategies. Thus, I highly suggest comparing and contrasting the strategies that the teacher implements at home and the strategies that you implement at home to see how you can help your child at home.

To get some immediate strategies for adding routine and structure at home, download my 3 Tips & Tricks freebie where I give you three positive strategies that you can begin implementing today!

Aside from investigating what strategies your child’s teacher is using, especially if you’re ready for loads of new strategies to begin implementing now, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! The course includes 5 modules, all with different strategies, and a workbook for each module to help you begin incorporating these strategies at home.

As I said before, there could be lots of reasons for why our child behaves well at school but not at home, and actually, the opposite could be true. Our child may behave well at home but not behave well at school.

But what it all comes down to is strategy. What strategies are helping your child be successful at home or at school? Let’s begin using those strategies that work for our child so we can move away from all of the negativity, not following directions, and tantrums, and move towards a positive home with less disobedience and more rule following. Again, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course to learn loads of new strategies to help you create that peaceful home!

And get pumped for The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast in February, when I’ll be talking all about how to handle when our children don’t follow directions!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

On Facebook: www.fb.me/lauralynnlapointe

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Laura Lynn LaPointe here! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today’s episode is about rewarding our children. Hmm, rewards. That’s a hot topic word for a lot of parents. For you personally, maybe you’re timid to begin using rewards. Or maybe you believe that rewards ruin your kids and make them spoiled. Or maybe you’re avoiding the wrath from other parents or family members who are against rewards. So today, let me tell you the truth about rewarding your kids. And don’t forget to check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course which includes modules all about using rewards effectively. The price of the course increases from $49 to $79 TOMORROW!

Like I said, the word “reward” can be a hot topic word. Some believe that rewards spoil our kids. We may not use rewards because we are avoiding judgement from others. Or really, maybe we don’t use rewards with our kids because we get stuck in the “should” mindset: “my child SHOULD be doing X anyway so why do I have to reward him?” In episode 38 of the podcast, I tackled the mindset battle with this “should” idea so go check that out. But for today, I want to tackle this “should” misconception about using rewards.

The first bit of truth that I can give you is that rewards are around us everywhere. We provide praise, attention, engagement, and positive interaction to our children for behaving appropriately, and these positive interactions could be serving as a reward for our kids. Our children are also growing up with rewards at school, daycare, church nursery, and Sunday school.

Rewards are around us, and because we use them so much I devoted a module of my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course to using rewards effectively so we can get the biggest bang out of those rewards. Check the course out now before the price increases to $79 TOMORROW (January 15th)!

If you’re already using rewards or want to use rewards, not only check out the course but also download my 3 Tips & Tricks freebie where I give you three positive strategies that go along nicely with using rewards! Plus, they’re FREE!

The second truth that I want to give you is that rewards can be extremely effective, and complete game-changers, for our kids and for us as parents. I’ve used rewards extremely effectively to teach toddlers how to potty train. And the best part is that once potty training was over, the children don’t need all of the rewards forever! Eventually, they are able to go pee pee on the potty without having to receive a reward. So, rewards can be effective and are children won’t need them forever.

I’ve also used rewards to help children with homework completion. With the use of rewards, the child was able to complete homework for an extended period of time without arguing, fighting, throwing objects, and other behaviors. Plus, over time, the child needed very minimal reward for the amount of work that was completed. Check out episode 18 for more information on how to use rewards.

While it’s easy to get sucked into the mindset battle of “my child SHOULD be able to do X without a reward,” we need to realize that our child isn’t there yet, that it’s okay to use rewards, and that rewards won’t be in our child’s life forever. In fact, using rewards can be a complete game-changer for your family. Instead of fighting and arguing with your child about homework or chores, instead of being scared to start that potty training journey, and instead of feeling embarrassed to take your child out in public, using rewards effectively can potentially change all of that for you.

Instead, your child may be able to complete homework or chores without a fight, you may be able to potty train with ease, and you may no longer feel embarrassed by your child’s inappropriate behavior out in public because the rewards are effective. This is the whole reason why I created the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course so that you have the tools needed to use rewards and help make those positive changes in your child’s life and in your life. Plus, the course comes with workbooks for each module that guide you to implement the strategies immediately! Go snag the course now before the price increases from $49 to $79 TOMORROW (January 15th)!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hey there and happy January! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Can you believe that we are already into 2020? With the start of the new year, most of us have set some type of New Year’s resolution or goal. If you’ve got a child who acts out - but seriously, who doesn’t have a kid who whines, throws fits, cries, or doesn’t follow directions - maybe this year you want to devote your New Year’s resolution to to learning new strategies to actually stop your child from acting out before it happens so that you can be more productive at home, enjoy your time with your kids again, and feel like you’re winning at parenting. In today’s episode, I am sharing my strategies for how to prevent behavior before it happens so you can accomplish your New Year’s goal with ease. And be sure to head to my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course which includes numerous preventative strategies. The price of the course increases from $49 to $79 on January 15th!

Really, a big chunk of our parenting is all about prevention. It is easier for us to prevent behavior before it happens than to deal with and manage the tantrums, sibling fights, whining, and wiggly toddlers once they’ve happened. Not only are we saving time when we use preventative strategies, but we are also saving our precious energy! In fact, it will take you more time and energy to deal with behaviors once they’ve occurred than it will take to actually use preventative strategies.

If you’re ready to capitalize on this idea of prevention, go download my 3 Tips & Tricks freebie where I give you three positive parenting strategies for FREE! And BONUS: the 3 hacks are all preventative strategies. Win, win!

One of my favorite preventative strategies that I use in my own home and highly recommend to all parents is the first/then statement. It simply outlines and provides an expectation to our children about what we are currently doing and what we will do next. This strategy really is a time and energy saver, and for my own son it has worked amazing wonders at such a young age.

I not only walk you through the first/then statement strategy in my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course, I also walk you through other preventative strategies that can be major game changers for you and your family. Plus, with each module of the course I include a workbook to help you begin implementing these strategies at home so you can get the biggest bang out of these strategies fast! The strategies that I’ve included in this course are the strategies that I recommend for every parent! And don’t forget that the price of the course increases on January 15th!

But when we really think about it, prevention really is key. When we use these preventative strategies consistently, not only do we feel great for accomplishing our 2020 goal of using new parenting strategies, we also are freeing up time and energy for ourselves! It is possible to feel confident in our parenting, enjoy our children again, not feel so guilty, and feel like we know how to handle our child’s behavior.

What we need to do is whip out these parenting techniques from our toolbox and get at that prevention! To capitalize on prevention in your own parenting, snag the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course to get access to new preventative strategies and the workbooks that can help you implement the strategies at home!

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Laura Lynn LaPointe here! Welcome Hey to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today we are talking about my #1 strategy to deal with junk behavior. Here’s the deal: every child at some point or another is going to engage in whining, pouting, talking like a baby, or other forms of junk behavior. And while these behaviors are minor, these are the behaviors that eat at us everyday and get on our last darn nerves. So today I want to tell you about the strategy used to not only deal with but prevent junk behavior so that you can actually enjoy time with your kid again. Check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course where I teach you how to use this strategy to get rid of those junky behaviors. Now let’s get to it!

What is junk behavior?

Junk behaviors are those minor, unwanted, misbehaviors that are super annoying but are not dangerous or harmful to people or objects. Junk behaviors are not serious behaviors; they do not harm or damage people or property. Whining, crying, talking like a baby, sticking your tongue out at someone, and blowing raspberries with your tongue are junk behaviors. Hitting and kicking people or objects, throwing objects, and damaging objects are not junk behaviors. These are more serious behaviors, and we would respond to them in a different way.

For these junk behaviors and other types of behaviors, I’ve got some helpful tools and strategies that you can use to help deal with and manage these behaviors. Come check out my 3 Tips & Tricks freebie where I give you three positive parenting strategies for FREE!

Why do we need a strategy?

Since these junk behaviors are annoying but not harmful, it may seem like we can just ignore them or to deal with them but not really address them head on. If you ask me, these junky behaviors are the behaviors that drive us crazy, make us mad, and make us fall off of our parenting bandwagon. When we continue to let these behaviors eat at us, this is where everything goes downhill.

When we don’t address these junky behaviors and, instead, just try to deal with it and live life, this is when we get frustrated, upset, angry, and when we lose our patience and throw the parenting strategies that work out the window. So, it is important that we do something about these behaviors and use a strategy that can help manage and prevent these junky behaviors from happening in the first place.

The strategy to deal with junk behaviors

The strategy that I used in my own home and teach the parents I work with to deal with junk behavior is called Pivot in Praise. With this strategy you are ignoring the inappropriate, junky behaviors at a specific time and providing praise and positive attention at a specific time when good behaviors happen. So really, you’re teaching your child directly in the moment that the junky behaviors won’t work him and also teaching that the good and appropriate behaviors will work for him.

You can also use Pivot and Praise with one child or with multiple children, so really, the strategy can be applied in lots of different situations. I go in depth and in detail in my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course to explain exactly how to use Pivot and Praise in a given situation. I also provide an easy-to-follow diagram of how to use the steps of Pivot and Praise so you can print it out and attach to your fridge for a helpful reminder! Snag that course while you can now at $49; this course will increase to $79 on January 15th!

It is really important to address these junk behaviors before they make us pull our hair out. It’s these minor, annoying behaviors that can really make us fall off of our rocker as parents. There’s an easy solution, an easy strategy for dealing with these junk behaviors so we can get away from being annoyed at our kids and finally be confident in our parenting and enjoy our kids without all of the whining, pouting, and junky behavior. Head to the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course to get access to all of the specifics about using this strategy at home!

And don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hey there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Parenting is hard, isn’t it? We all can agree on that. Not only are we dealing with diapers, picky eaters, potty accidents, and tantrums, but we’re also dealing with advice from anyone and everyone under the sun. When you’re trying to do the best you can and be the parent your child needs, it gets overwhelming, and I mean fast. So today I’m gonna share the real reason why parenting is hard, and it might surprise you. Before I forget, you might want to check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course as I mention it later on in the episode. Now let’s hop to it!

There are a lot of reasons for why we think parenting is hard, and in fact, these things do make parenting hard. Dealing with our child’s unwanted behavior can seem endless and be very difficult to manage. Receiving advice from others and sifting through that advice can definitely put a strain on us. And, of course, when our child isn’t making progress or if we feel like we aren’t making progress in our parenting, this can be a really difficult thing to handle.

But I want to argue for why I believe parenting is actually hard. The real reason why parenting is hard is because we get stuck in our own patterns and in our own ways of responding to our child’s behavior. Not only do we get stuck with how we physically respond, but we get stuck in the ways in which we think about our child’s behavior or about our parenting. When we are stuck and when we feel stuck, parenting is extra hard.

If you feel stuck in the actual strategies you’re using and you want some new and fresh strategies, come snag my 3 Tips & Tricks freebie where I give you three positive parenting strategies for FREE!

Like I said, the real reason parenting is hard is because we get stuck in our own patterns of patterning which may cause us to be really resistant to new parenting strategies that could actually work for our kids. But it goes beyond just learning about these strategies. We actually have to implement them and use them consistently, and that’s where we can really get stuck.

At the end of the day, what we really need is support. We need specific strategies that we can use from a trusted source, and we need to understand why a specific strategy does or does not work in a given situation.

This is exactly why I created the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course in the first place! I want parents to have the specific tools and strategies at their fingertips that are easy to use and that can really work in getting rid of unwanted behavior. Within the course I go over multiple specific strategies to not only manage but help prevent those unwanted behaviors. Don’t forget that the price of the course increases from $49 to $79 on January 15, 2020!

So the real reason for why parenting is hard? It’s not just that behavior is hard; it is. It’s not just that we feel like we aren’t making progress. It’s not just that we’re getting information from everywhere. Parenting is hard because we get stuck in our strategies and in our ways of doing things, and when we try new ways of parenting, it’s difficult for our parenting gears to turn because we are physically and mentally stuck in our old ways of doing things. To help you get unstuck, come check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! It’s filled with lots of strategies that are easy to use!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hey, hey! Thanks for joining me for another episode of The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today I’m here to bust the top 3 parenting myths of using parenting strategies. Here’s the deal: it’s so easy for us to get caught up in our own beliefs and, shoot, the beliefs of others, about using parenting strategies. And these false beliefs can really get in the way of us actually using the strategies to get us the results that we are looking for: more peace at home, less tantrums, a greater ability to go out and about in public without feeling embarrassed about our child’s behavior. And speaking of parenting strategies, I want to remind you that my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course is chock full of parenting strategies that we are talking about today. Let’s get to busting the top three parenting myths, shall we?

Because I’m so pumped to share with you the top 3 parenting myths when it comes to using parenting strategies, I’ve got to give them all to you write now!

Myth #1: Parenting strategies are hard.

Myth #2: Your child will need them forever.

Myth #3: Parenting strategies are all about punishment.

If you’re eager and you’ve got to get your hands on some free parenting strategies now, come snag my 3 Tips & Tricks freebie where I give you three positive parenting strategies for FREE!

Myth #1 Parenting strategies are hard

Guess what! They aren’t hard and they aren’t meant to be hard. Parenting strategies are meant to be easy so that we are more likely to actually use them. The only hard part is getting over our own habits and our own way of doing things and trying out something new. Seriously, once we get over our old habits of parenting and we begin implementing these new positive parenting strategies, it can actually become second nature for us.

Like I said, parenting strategies aren’t meant to be hard. That’s why I created the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course in the first place! I wanted to give parents positive parenting strategies that are EASY to use, that you can take and do anywhere, so that you could use positive strategies to help manage and prevent those unwanted behaviors. Go check out the course and remember the price increases on January 15, 2020!

Myth #2 Your child will need them forever

It may seem that your child may need them forever and you may be fearful that your child will need these strategies forever. In reality, this is just a season of life, and it won’t last forever. So don’t let this idea that your child will need the strategies forever keep you from using some new strategies that could really work!

Myth #3 Parenting strategies are all about punishment

So many parents believe that parenting strategies are all about punishment, usually because that’s what they grew up with and that’s what they are used to. In reality, the opposite is true! Parenting strategies are all about the positives. Parenting strategies are used to prevent behavior before it starts so that you won’t need to use punishments in the first place.

Honestly and truthfully, I don’t want you to let these false beliefs, these parenting myths, get in the way of using strategies that could get you the results that you want in life: fewer arguments, no longer feeling the desire to pull your hair out, actually enjoying time with your kids again, and not being embarrassed to take your family out in public. I want that for you! Don’t forget to come check out the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course if you’re ready to learn some positive parenting strategies that are easy to use! And don’t forget that the price increases from $49 to $79 on January 15th!

If you found this episode helpful, please share with your friends! And, of course, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Can we talk about this negative loop that is so dang easy to fall into in our parenting? Because, if you ask me, every parent falls into this cycle at some point or another. So in today’s episode, I want to share how I’ve fallen into the negative loop, how I get out of it, and how you can to, so you can quit feeling like a crummy parent. Oh, and I want to remind you that the prices for my courses are going up on January 15th, so if you’ve had your eye on the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course, you can snag it now before the increase!

So what is this negative loop? Really, the question that I’m asking is, “Is it possible to stay positive when our children are misbehaving?” The answer, of course, is yes, even though it may be difficult. But the negative loop that is so easy for us to fall into is when we use those negative parenting techniques that professionals preach that we shouldn’t use. And really, we know that there is probably a better way. If you’re dying to know what that better way is and you want a little sneak peek, come download my 3 Tips & Tricks where I talk about some of the positive parenting techniques that we can use.

Falling into this negative loop can happen to any parent, including me! When I’m tired, when my toddler is tired or hungry, and when food or toys are being thrown, it’s easy for me to revert back to those negative parenting techniques. I’m not perfect and no parent is perfect, so it’s not a surprise that this can happen to any parent.

The important thing for us to remember is that we can make our way out of this negative loop. We know that this negative loop isn’t serving us or our children very well. And really, using positive strategies is the very first thing I work on with parents because it is so crucial and such a first step to anything else I would do with a family to improve behavior.

It’s so important that it’s the very first module of my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course! No strategy will be as effective if we don’t have these positive strategies in place with our children first. So go take a peek before the price increase on January 15th.

Ultimately, we know that this negative loop isn’t serving us or our children. We feel like crummy parents, our child’s misbehavior continues, and we don’t know what else to do. So let’s move to a place where we are using positive strategies and feeling proud and empowered with our parenting. That’s the place to be!

Before we go, I must mention my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course if you’re ready to learn how you can use specific positive strategies that are easy!

And, of course, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! If you use rewards with your kids - for good behavior, to complete chores, for homework completion, to go to bed without a fight, or what have you - you likely have the feelings that most parents have: doubt, worry, questioning the use of the rewards. So in today’s episode, I’m going to talk all about that mindset piece of using rewards and walk you through how to turn that doubt into the confidence you desire. Oh, and I want to remind you about my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course.

As parents, we tend to have a lot of negative feelings surrounding using rewards with our kids. We question ourselves and our parenting. Do other kids use rewards? Why can’t my child do X without a reward? Will my child need a reward forever? Is there something wrong with my parenting?

To help curb this negative parenting mindset, the first thing we need to do it to remember why we are using a reward in the first place. What’s our goal? Why are we using the reward?

We may use the reward to increase a desirable behavior, like completing chores or following a morning or bedtime routine. We may also use a reward to decrease or manage inappropriate behavior, like inappropriate language. We are likely to also use rewards when we are teaching our young children new skills, like potty training or sharing toys.

Our whole goal with the reward system is to improve some sort of behavior. That’s why I go in-depth in my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course with specific parenting strategies that we can use to prevent unwanted behavior like crying, whining, tantrums, and the like. And when we think about this mindset piece surrounding rewards, the key to a positive mindset it to keep our goal in mind. What is our goal? What is our purpose for the reward?

We also need to know that rewards will change over time, and it’s likely that they will change. We may provide a reward less often because our child is doing well. We may need to provide a reward more often because our child needs a little extra help right. We may change the size of the reward. And we may get rid of the reward gradually over time.

When we know and realize that rewards will change, we are more likely to be more comfortable with our parenting and using the reward in the first place. We also need to think about the needs of our child at this current moment in life and let that thought influence our mindset.

So when we think about our ultimate goal for the reward, when we know that rewards are likely to change, and when we have the right mindset surrounding using rewards, we are more able to turn that doubt, worry, and fear into the parenting assurance and confidence that we desire.

Before we go, I must mention my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course if you’re ready for some specific and easy strategies to use at home to help manage and prevent those unwanted behaviors.

And, of course, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hi! Laura Lynn LaPointe here! Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! The holiday season can be such an amazing and exciting time of year, but with kids in tow, all of that holiday magic can quickly turn into childhood mayhem - you know what I’m talking about… the screaming, crying, tantrums… the whole nine yards. So in today’s episode I’m sharing three ways to save your sanity this holiday season so your celebrations don’t turn into catastrophes. And before I forget, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course.

I’m bringing this episode to you because I know how crazy the holiday season can be with Thanksgiving, Christmas, shopping, the kids being home from school, attending parties, having family in town, crazy schedules, and all of the loud noises. All of this craziness can lead to parenting overwhelm! Here are three important tips to help you maintain your sanity this holiday season.

#1 Consistency

Naturally, the holiday season can bring a lack of consistency, but consistency is really what our children need. There are so many specific areas where you can maintain consistency in your child’s day over the holidays but here are a few: nap, bedtime and the bedtime routine,the timing of meals, making sure your children have snacks, your children’s overall schedules, and incorporating quiet time and downtime into their day. And, of course, we don’t want to forget to maintain consistency with those specific parenting strategies that we’ve been using, like praise and any reward systems we use with our children.

If you’re needing some new and specific strategies to use at home and when you’re out-and-about, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. This course is jam packed with specific strategies that are easy to use and that can have a huge impact on preventing your child’s unwanted behavior.

#2 Preparation

The holiday season can be a lot of unknowns for our children, so it’s a smart idea to prepare them for those unknowns by providing expectations. We can provide expectations surrounding the who, what, where, when, and hows of any situation that your children need to be prepared for. During the holiday season, we can provide expectations surrounding receiving gifts, having family over, attending parties, church services, waiting in line at stores, etc. This is an easy strategy to use that can have a huge impact on your child’s behavior.

#3 Flexibility

It’s so important to be flexible not only with our children but also with ourselves during the holiday season. Sometimes we may just need to be patient with our children when there’s so much chaos going on. And sometimes we need to give ourselves a little bit of grace when things don’t turn out perfectly.

But if you’re needing some new strategies that you can use NOW, I have a great resource for you! Check out my 3 Parenting Tips & Tricks to Save Your Sanity Today FREEBIE at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/3parentingtips. Did I mention it’s free?!

Since the holiday season can be such a chaotic and hectic time of year, I hope these three tips give you the sanity that you need in your day! Again, don’t forget to check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course if you’re ready for some specific strategies to use at home and while you’re out-and-about.

And, of course, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hello and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! I’m so excited to talk all about the ABCs of your child’s behavior. If you’ve been feeling lost, burnt out, or confused about your child’s behavior, this episode will definitely give you a whole new insight into your child. Also, I don’t want to forget to tell you about my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. Let’s get to those ABCs, shall we?

I want to start off by discussing why I’m bringing the ABCs of behavior up. As a parent raising our children, we may spend a good chunk of time handling and managing inappropriate behavior. We may deal with tantrums when our child doesn’t get his way. And because these tantrums include pouting, crying, falling to the floor, kicking, and screaming, we want to get to a much better place in our home where this behavior isn’t occurring as frequently. If we want to do something about this behavior, we’ll need to take a look at the ABCs of behavior.

But some of us might also be consulting with a psychologist, behavior analyst, or counselor to help address these tantrums. And I would say that most behavior professionals are going to look at the ABCs of the behavior in order to help address the behavior and provide some solutions to the family.

Alright, so what are the ABCs of behavior? I’m going to start with the B.

B = Behavior

When I am working with a family and observing the child, I need to know what the behavior looks like. If the child is having tantrums, what does the tantrum include? Like I mentioned above, the tantrum may include pouting, crying, falling to the floor, and kicking. Ultimately, I need to know what the behavior looks like so I can know if the behavior is improving, getting worse, or staying the same overtime, especially if I’ve provided specific strategies for the family to try.

If you’re wanting to try some new strategies now, download my 3 Parenting Tips freebie at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/3parentingtips.

A = Antecedent

Antecedent is anything that happens before a behavior occurs that may influence the behavior. Antecedents can be immediate (right before the behavior occurs) or more distant (not as immediate to the behavior). Things that occur before a behavior occurs are if a demand is in place, if a toy was taken away, or if a parent wasn’t providing attention to a child. More distant antecedents that can influence behavior are lack of sleep or hunger. There can be a lot more antecedents but these are just some quick examples.

If you haven’t had a chance, go check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course, which is full of strategies that can help manage and prevent behavior from occurring. Actually, all of the strategies in the course are antecedents… specific strategies that we can use before a behavior happens to prevent the behavior from happening in the first place.

C = Consequence

Consequence is not a punishment like we typically think. Consequence is anything that immediately follows the behavior. Some common consequences that may follow tantrums are access to preferred toys, attention like reprimands, or not having to follow through with a chore.

Knowing all of the pieces of the behavior puzzle - antecedents, behavior, and consequences - can help us know what specific strategies we should use to help decrease some of those inappropriate behaviors.

Again, don’t forget to check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course if you’re ready for some specific strategies to use at home.

And, of course, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hello and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Have you ever been afraid to leave a public place like the park, library, or a playdate because you’re worried about how your child is going to behave when it’s time to leave? Listen, moms and dads, I feel you! In today’s episode I’m giving you an EASY strategy to help with these outings. Also I don’t want to forget to tell you about my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. I’ll chat more about that later. Let’s jump in.

Recently I took my one-and-a-half year old to the park and, I have to be honest, I was worried about how he was going to handle leaving and going home. I was worried that he would throw a fit and make a scene in front of all the other parents and children. Luckily, I used an easy strategy when it was time to go: I provided the expectation. Sounds simple, right? It is!

When it was time to leave, I informed my son that he can go down the slide two more times and then it’s time to go home. After he went down the slide one time, I reminded him again that he could go down the slide one more time and then it’s time to go home. When he went down the slide the second time, I told him that it’s time to go and to say “bye bye.” What did he do? He grabbed my hand, said “bye bye” to the other parents and children at the park, and walked with me to the car. NO PROBLEM!

Phew! I was relieved that we had no problems leaving the park! I also felt confident and empowered in my parenting and in the simple strategy that I was using. It actually worked! And because it worked, I’ll be less afraid in that same situation next time and more likely to continue using that situation in similar circumstances.

I want you to feel that same confidence and empowerment in your parenting and in the specific strategies that you are using with your kiddos!

Communication is key. We know that to be the case with adults but it’s also true with our children.

To help our child transition to another activity, like leaving the park to go home, we can provide the warning or expectation of what is to come. We can verbally provide the reminder and expectation based off of what the child is doing. For example, we can say, “You can go down the slide two more times and then it’s time to go home.” Or, “ You can shoot the basketball three more times and then it’s time to leave.”

We can also provide a countdown to our expectation with a timer. We can say, “You have five more minutes to play and then it’s time to leave.”

And of course it’s smart to provide additional reminders as time is narrowing down or as our child is finishing up their activity. These extra reminders prepares the child that it’s almost time to leave.

If you want to take it a step further to managing behavior before it even starts, if you want to avoid the crying and tantrums, if you want to feel confident in your parenting and have parenting feel easy again with specific strategies to use, then come and check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course!

And, of course, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hey there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! I’m excited to bring you today’s episode which is all about monitoring our own parenting expectations because this is something that has had a great affect on my own parenting. If you’ve been feeling like you just can’t catch a break with your child’s behavior or nothing seems to be working, then this episode is definitely for you. And before we jump in, I don’t want to forget to mention to you my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. I’ll chat more about that later. Let’s jump in.

The reason that I bring you this topic today is because of a conversation I had with Amanda Bennet of Gotcha Mama Podcast while recording an interview with her. (That episode will air sometime in January!) During the interview she asked me the one piece of advice that I can give to parents. My answer?

That it all takes time.

If we are implementing a new parenting strategy or are trying a new way of doing things, it’s going to take time for us to see the results that we want in our child’s behavior. A lot of times we expect to see those instant results, but that’s not reality.

Our children are learning while we are implementing these new strategies, they are trying to figure out what we are doing and what’s it all about, and all of that takes time.

But I know that for a lot of us, it’s easy to feel guilty, uncertain, worried, or afraid that we are screwing up our own children. This is a pretty typical parenting feeling. And it’s especially easy to feel that way when we’ve got little ones running around hitting siblings, knocking over toys, whining, crying, and the whole works. It’s exhausting.

So remember, it takes time. It’s easy for us to freak out if our new strategy isn’t working… after only using it for a day… It may take time for the effect to come through for your little one.

Along with the fact that it takes time, it also takes consistency. If we want to see those positive results in our child’s behavior, we have to consistently implement those strategies. That’s how it works. And again, it may take time.

If you’re feeling like you’ve got a good grasp this whole “it takes time” bit but you’re looking for some new strategy that are EASY and that you can use on a daily basis without feeling burnt out, go check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course (https://laura-lynn-lapointe.mykajabi.com/regaincontrol). I’ve got lots of strategies for you that won’t make you feel like you could pull out your hair. Instead, you may just find yourself empowered with having some new strategies in your back pocket.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today I am excited to chat about all things related to our parenting, our children, and the environment with Ashley Strong. Ashley is the founder of Home Intentionally, a professional organizer, coach, and most importantly, mom of two toddlers. She helps busy moms create space in their homes, minds, and schedules so they can do more of what they love.

I really love talking about the environment and how it affects our parenting, but I think we don’t realize the type of impact that it has. I’ve talked behavior about how the environment can affect our children’s behavior: check out Episode 13 to hear more about why a child may misbehave in one environment and not misbehave in another.

Our homes, where things are placed, if it’s cluttered, unorganized, or chaotic can potentially affect our lives, including our parenting behavior. Environments can have a great impact on us… good or bad. If we are stressed because our homes are disorganized and chaotic, we may end up finding ourselves in “survival mode.” This stress then in turn can affect our parenting and, thus, our children’s behavior.

Christmas is around the corner and the holiday season can be a really stressful and chaotic time for lots of us. With tons of new toys and no homes for those new toys, it’s easy for us to get overwhelmed and for our kids to get overwhelmed. Because of this, a lot of parents are focused more on giving experiences (like going to the zoo or to a museum) instead of giving things.

Because an environment can have such a great affect on us, it makes sense to keep it in check! If you’re looking for more resources on homelife, organization, and decluttering, check out Ashley at homeintentionally.com, in her Home Intentionally Facebook Group, on Instagram, and her Home Intentionally podcast.

If you’re looking for more strategies to add to your parenting toolbox, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. It’s filled with lots of tips and strategies that are EASY to use and that can make a difference in your day!

And don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Teaching parents how to play and interact with their young kids is one of my favorite things to do because it’s so fun and so dang important. So today we are going to talk all about playtime. Plus, I’ll cover some important strategies you should use with your kids to make the most out of playtime. Let’s jump in!

Last week I attended a professional conference on behavior analysis that sparked the idea for this episode. I attended a workshop about parent training, specifically how to train parents how to play and interact with their children. While the workshop was geared toward parents of children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder, this idea of getting on the floor and playing with your children is relevant for all parents.

There’s plenty of research describing the benefits of playtime and why playtime is so important for young children. Ultimately, children learn how to play from us, their parents, and from others around them. During playtime, our children are learning new skills, are learning how to play with toys, are undergoing language development, and are learning social skills and how to interact with peers. It’s obvious. Playtime is important.

Here are some specific strategies that you can use during playtime with your child:

Dedicating time for play every day

It’s important to dedicate at least 15-30 minutes of playtime with your child everyday to aid in all of those areas of development that I have already discussed. While it may be difficult to dedicate this time because of our busy schedules, it’s important!

Get on the floor with your child

To make the most of our playtime, we have to get on the floor with our child and actually play with them. Not just watch them. Not just sit there. Actually play with them.

Use describing words to describe play

This is where we use all of those verbs and adjectives that we learned in elementary school to describe our play and our child’s play. We can describe the actions that are child is doing: rolling the ball, stacking block, feeding the baby doll. We can describe the toys themselves: the blue block, the round ball, the soft baby, the fast car. This strategy will definitely help with that language development.

Model how to play with toys

Show your kids how to play with specific toys. Roll the car on the ground and say, “Beep, beep. Vroom, vroom.” Show your child how to stack blocks by stacking them yourself. Remember, playtime is where your child is learning how to play appropriately with each toy.

Model sharing and taking turns

If our child has siblings or there are peers around, show your child how to share and take turns by describing that you are sharing and describing that you are taking turns. Children learn a lot of important social skills during playtime including sharing and taking turns.

Praise your child for appropriate play behavior

As always, praise your child for playing appropriately. You can say, “I like how you are rolling the police car.” “You are feeding your baby doll so nicely.” “Good job stacking the blocks.” As you can see, even in our praise statements we are describing our child’s play.

If these tips and strategies were helpful for you, I’ve got a ton of other resources available for you. Check out all of my previous podcast episode by subscribing to the podcast (and don’t forget to leave a review)!

If you’re looking for more strategies that you can use with your young child every day, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. It’s filled with lots of tips and strategies that are EASY to use and that can make a difference in your day!

Let’s connect!

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Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today I’m gonna get a bit vulnerable with you and share how my one parenting failure is not even a real failure. Mindset is everything, people. Let’s get real, shall we?

The first secret I want to share is that I don’t just have one failure, I have multiple. I am not perfect in my parenting. Shoot, no one is. But one area that I sometimes struggle with in my parenting is commenting on inappropriate behavior. While this is a specific strategy that I recommend for all parents, sometimes I find myself falling and commenting on my child’s inappropriate behavior.

For me and my husband, we are more likely to comment on our one and a half year-old’s inappropriate behavior during meals. Sometimes, he throws his food on the floor, usually to indicate that he’s done eating or doesn’t want to eat that specific piece of food. It doesn’t happen all the time but when it does happen, sometimes my husband and I will comment on this behavior and say “no.” Yes, sometimes I do this even though I shouldn’t.

While it’s important to realize that sometimes I slip up, it’s also important to realize why I’m slipping up. What is influencing my behavior as a parent? What is influencing how I respond to my child in these situations? For me, being tired and multitasking are two reasons why I am likely to slip up here. Also, commenting on inappropriate behavior was how I was raised so it’s easier for me to fall back to this.

But the real key here is understanding that this so called “failure” is not even a failure. We can’t be 100% on it all of the time. We aren’t perfect. While this isn’t an excuse for how we respond to our children, it is a reality. We physically can’t be 100% perfect all of the time. So instead of focusing on this “failure” (again, it’s not a failure), instead we should focus on how and when we make small improvements, small gains.

It is better for us to switch our mindset around and focus on those small steps that we are taking in the right direction than it is for us to focus on how we didn’t do X perfectly.

Messing up sometimes is not a failure. It’s definitely not a failure when we step back up day after day, we step back into the ring, we step back into the ballgame, we step back into our parenting. It’s not a failure because of the fact that we step back up.

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to share with your friends, subscribe, and leave a review!

And if you’re ready to take a step in the right direction with parenting tools that are EASY to use and that can really WORK, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course.

Let’s connect!

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Welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today we are talking about a really important and foundational concept to understanding our child’s behavior: that behavior is learned, and because it is learned, it can be changed. So grab a cup of coffee and let’s get started!

So what do I mean when I say “behavior.” In this episode, I’m really referring to behavior as the things our children, not the things that our children are born knowing how to do - like breathing or blinking their eyes.

Our children do in fact learn both inappropriate behavior and appropriate behaviors. Our children learn that whining works, they learn how to throw toys at their friends, they learn how to hit, and they learn how to spit. Yet, our children also learn appropriate behaviors. They learn how to share, how to use good table manners, and how to follow directions.

Because behavior is learned, it can be changed.

Rest in that fact. Be at peace with that fact. Whatever situation you feel stuck in with your child, know that there is hope and that behavior can be changed.

That hope comes in to teaching our children a better way of doing things, a more appropriate way of doing things. If our child has learned to whine and cry and throw a fit in order to get some undivided attention from us, we can teach our child to get that attention from us in a better way. We can teach our child to ask for a hug or ask for one-on-one time instead of throwing a fit.

But sometimes we may want to change an appropriate behavior our child is doing in order to keep up with their development. If our baby has learned how to use sign language to ask for more food, we can then teach him to verbally ask for food by using words.

Our parenting is in a constant state of motion. We are always moving and modifying our parenting in order to keep up with our children’s development.

And again, if you feel stuck in a situation because of your child’s behavior, rest in the fact that behavior can be changed. There is hope and there is help out there.

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to share with your friends, subscribe, and leave a review!

And if you need some new tools in your parenting that are EASY to use and that can really WORK, check out my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course.

Let’s connect!

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Hey there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! I think we can all agree that how we talk to our kids does matter, but it’s not always easy to break some of those bad habits that we might have. In today’s episode I’ll share some specific ways for how we should talk to our children positively which may, in turn, help improve some of that inappropriate behavior. Let’s get to it!

Like I said, I think we can all agree that it’s important to speak in positive terms with our children. Not only will it help create a positive environment, but it can also help improve some of our children’s inappropriate behavior. Yet, it may be hard for us to speak positively because of our own bad habits. May we are used to providing reprimands and threats to our children. Maybe our parents spoke negatively to us and so now we are speaking negatively to our children.

And I think we can all agree that our kids probably hear the word “no” and other phrases of negativity throughout their day from us, from other caregivers, from teachers, etc. We want to speak positively to our children, but it may seem unnatural and awkward to us and our kids. Nevertheless, speaking positively can help teach our children appropriate behavior.

I want to share three specific ways that we can speak positively to our children

#1 Praise

This one definitely makes sense. We should praise our children when they do good and appropriate things to increase the likelihood that they will do those good and appropriate things again in the future. We can praise our children for getting started on their homework, for doing their chores, for following directions, and for having good table manners.

#2 Phrasing Instructions

We may be used to phrasing instructions in a negative way. “Don’t sweep the floor like that.” “That’s not how you make your bed.”

Instead, before our child starts the task, we should lay out our expectations for how to complete our instruction. “It’s time to make your bed. Don’t forget to first pull up the sheets, then the comforter, and then put the pillows on top.” This way, our children know our expectations.

#3 Correcting Behavior by Providing an Alternative

A lot of times we correct behavior by saying, “No.” “That’s not nice.” “That’s not how we play with our toys.” “There’s not running in the house.”

Instead, we should provide an alternative that our children can go. Instead of saying, “no running” we can say, “You can walk in the house.” or “You can run outside.” This way, we still are addressing the situation without having to be so negative, and we are teaching our children what it is that they can do.

It can get really easy for use to get negative with ourselves when we think about which of these strategies we do and do not use. Just like it’s important for us to speak positively to our kids, it’s important to speak and think positively for ourselves. Instead of beating ourselves up for not following these strategies, we should take note on where we can improve and begin practicing.

If these tidbits of advice were helpful, I encourage you to check out my new course Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior. The course is packed with really EASY and SPECIFIC strategies that will help you create positivity in your home and help curb some of those unwanted behaviors!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Parents always ask, “What is your #1 strategy?” “What is your #1 parenting advice?” and I don’t blame them for asking. So, in today’s episode we are diving into my #1 strategy that I recommend for ALL parents regardless of their child’s age. Yep, you heard me: this strategy is for young and older kids alike. Let’s dive in!

Let’s get to it. The #1 strategy that I recommend for all parents is praise. Yep, it’s as simple as that. Before I get into the “why,” let’s talk about what praise is. Praise is simply providing a positive statement to our child about a behavior that they are doing well. Like using good table manners or sharing their toys.

So why is praise my #1 parenting strategy?

First, when we provide praise to our children, we are directly teaching them in the moment what it is that we like that they are doing. When we provide praise in this way, we increase the likelihood that they will do those good behaviors again in the future. That’s a win, win!

Second, I recommend providing praise to our children because IT WORKS! Sometimes just providing praise alone can take care of some of those unwanted behaviors we see at home. While sometimes we may need to use additional strategies to manage behaviors, at the end of the day, providing praise is the place where we need to start. You’ll be surprised at how well praise can work.

Third, it’s easy. You can provide praise anywhere, any time, and at any place. When we praise our children, all we have to do is provide a positive statement to our child in which we label the behavior that he or she is doing really well. We can say, “I like how you are cleaning up your toys!” It’s easy.

Lastly, it’s for all parents and for all kids. Any parent can provide praise. All kids, younger and older, can hear praise.

For our younger kids, we can say: “Nice job eating your breakfast.” “I like how you are putting on your shoes.” You’re doing a good job cleaning up your toys.” Great job following my directions and sitting down.”

We can praise our older kids, too. When we do, we will use a different tone of voice than the ones we use with our younger kids and we will word our praise statements a bit differently. We may say things like: “You put in a lot of effort during your basketball game tonight.” “I really like that you start your homework right when you come home from school.” “Thanks for doing your chores without being told.” “You have been obeying your curfew this past month; you’re definitely growing into a responsible young adult.”

Providing praise is my #1 parenting strategy because we are teaching our children what it is that they are doing well, it works, it’s easy, and it’s for all parents and all kids.

If you found this episode easy to understand and helpful, you will love my Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. The course is packed with SPECIFIC and EASY strategies that you can use to help you create that peaceful home you desire!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today’s episode is going to take a different spin than most of my other episodes. While we focus a lot on our children and their behavior, today we are talking about us parents and what’s influencing the way we parent. It’s a great topic and I’m so glad you’re joining. Let’s jump in!

We talk so much about our kids and their behavior but we don’t talk so much about our behavior as parents… and I think we should! As I always say, knowledge is power. Having the knowledge of what is influencing our parenting behavior will only make us stronger parents.

This conversation is important especially since so many professionals are giving us recommendations about how to do X, Y, or Z. If psychologists, teachers, pediatricians, etc. are giving us advice, it’s especially important for them, and us, to know what is influencing and impacting our actions as parents. And we know that it’s not always easy to change our behavior, but our understanding about what’s impacting and influencing our behavior, our actions are important.

There are many different conditions or circumstances under which we do a great job at implementing our parenting tools. If we are in a good routine, if professionals are watching or observing us, and if we are motivated to make a change then we are most likely really good at being consistent with our parenting techniques. We are also really good at implementing those positive strategies if our children are misbehaving because we have an immediate reason for implementing those techniques.

There are also many different conditions or situations under which we may not do a great job at being consistent with implementing our parenting strategies. If we are out of our typical routine, if no one is watching or observing us, or if we are tired then we are most likely not great at being consistent with our parenting strategies. We also tend to struggle with being consistent when our children are behaving well because we think that our children don’t need the strategies in that moment since they are being so good.

Knowledge IS power. Once we realize under which circumstances we are good at being consistent and under which circumstances we aren’t so good at being consistent, then we can actually do something about it!

If you’re at a point in your parenting journey when you need some new easy and positive parenting tools to try, check out the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. The course covers SPECIFIC and EASY strategies that you can use to up your positive parenting game!

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today’s episode is all about how we as parents should respond to our children’s whining… the RIGHT way… and I’ll actually show you how to correct the whining so your child learns the appropriate behavior instead. Let’s get to it!

Let’s talk about whining in general. Why do our kids do it? They may whine because they are tired and it’s easier to whine than it is to communicate the appropriate way. Children may also whine in order to get what they want, whether that’s time watching TV, to get out of doing chores, or to get a specific type of attention from us. Ultimately, our children whine because it works for them. It’s effective. They get what they want when they whine. So, why do our kids whine? Because it works.

When our children do whine, we probably respond in the typical way: we may say “Okay” and give the child what he wants. Or we may comment on the whining, say, “Ugh, I wish you’d stop all of this whining” and then give the child what he wants. In the long run, our child has whined but he still got what he wanted.

Instead of giving in to the whining or making a negative comment about the whining, we should prompt (meaning provide a correct example) the child to ask for what they want in an appropriate way. So, if our child is whining because he wants to eat string cheese for snack, we can tell the child:

“You can say, ‘I would like the string cheese please’” and have the child repeat.

But remember, it’s going to take some time for our child to learn a new way of doing things. Expect that your child is still going to whine some. Expect that your child will whine tomorrow. But know that the more consistent you are with prompting your child how to ask for things in the appropriate way, the easier it will be on you in the long run! Expect that it’s going to take some time but know that it’s worth it!

In the episode I talked about how easy it is for us as parents to get stuck in our negative rut. If you feel like you’re stuck in a negative rut in your parenting and you want to learn more positive parenting practices to incorporate into your parenting, come check out the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course. In the course I chat about how easy it is for us to use negative parenting techniques but I provide SPECIFIC and CONCRETE strategies for you to turn that negativity around!

As always, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hi there parents and welcome! As a parent, teacher, grandparent, aunt, uncle, nanny, daycare worker, or whatever your role is, it’s hard to know what to do in every situation, how to handle out child’s every behavior. Today on The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast, we are going to talk about our first line of defense to these behaviors. Let’s jump in!

So, why am I talking about this “first line of defense” idea? When parents come to me asking me for advice, the first questions that I always ask them are about what “first line of defense” strategies they use to help manage or prevent the situation. When I do observations at homes, schools, or daycares, the first things that I observe and evaluate are these “first line of defense” strategies. And the first recommendations I always give to parents are about these “first line of defense” strategies.

What does “first line of defense” mean and what are these strategies?

First line of defense means that these are the very first strategies that we use or attempt to use in order to try and handle our child’s inappropriate behavior. These strategies are our first line of defense strategies because they are easier to use than other strategies and they aren’t complex, which is why we attempt these strategies in the first place.

Some of our first line of defense strategies include the environment and structure: where is the child seated in class? Where is the adult in the room? What’s the noise level like? Are there any distractions that could be a trigger?

The type of attention we provide, and when we provide that specific type of attention, is also part of our first line of defense strategies. Do we provide lots of corrections and reprimands when are child is misbehaving? Are we ignoring or child when he is behaving appropriately, or are we providing praise during these moments?

There are other specific strategies that we can use in our first line of defense. Timers are great when we need to signal how long an activity should last or when our child should be completed with a task. Providing choices is another great tool to use if our child has problems during specific situations or at specific parts of the day. We should also think about whether we are delivering instructions clearly. Are we delivering clear and short one-step directions or are we delivering instructions in the form of statements? We also want to make sure that our rules and expectations for our children are clearly outlined. They can’t follow the rules if they don’t know what they are.

If you’re at a loss for what your first line of defense strategies should be, I created the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course to walk you through the exact strategies I recommend and teach to all of my parents to help prevent and manage unwanted behavior. In the course I outline how to respond to specific behaviors, I walk you through how to use specific strategies to prevent unwanted behavior, I teach you a new tool for managing inappropriate behavior (especially if your child likes to seek attention), and since lots of parents use rewards, I included a segment that outlines the effective ways to use rewards. If you need some guidance with your first line of defense strategies, I’ve got you covered in the Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior course!

If you found our discussion on the first line of defense intriguing and helpful, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends. And if you’re uncertain about the strategies that you use to help prevent behavior, hop on over to my new course where I walk you through the recommendations I provide to all my parents.

Let’s connect!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today is part 4 of 4 of the Gearing Up for School Series. We’ve talked about morning routines. We’ve talked about bedtime routines. We’ve talked about after school routines. And today we are talking all about homework routines. I know this will be a big episode for many of you as homework time can be a real battle in many households. Let’s jump to it!

Like we talked about last week, homework is part of the after school routine. Talk about having a routine be a part of a routine. But that’s okay. It’s natural for your child to have a routine within their homework time.

And, as we also talked about, the after school routine may look differently for each child. Some children like to come home from school, have a snack, and then do their homework. Other children like to jump to their homework first thing. And other children like to have some relaxation time or playtime before they do their homework. So when you think about your child’s homework routine, where does the homework routine fall within that after school routine?

In the rest of the episode I want to share some really helpful tips for setting your child up for success during their homework routine.

#1 Set up the environment - free of distractions

It’s so important for us to first think about the environment in which our child does homework. Are there distractions present that will hurt our child more than help him? Think about the noise level around. Think about the people present and moving around. Think about physical objects that are present. Some children may be really distracted by a mess of papers or trash next to them on the kitchen table while they are trying to do their homework.

While some children can focus on homework with a little bit of background noise, other children may have a difficult time with it. During certain subjects or certain tasks we may need to help find our child a quieter place to do homework, like their bedroom.

#2 Add in breaks

Breaks can be really helpful for some children. They’ve gone to school all day long and their brain is tired; they may need a few breaks here and there.

You can set scheduled breaks for your child during homework (e.g., setting a short 2 minute break every 15 minutes). Or you can have breaks contingent on your child completing a task (e.g., once your child finished the worksheet, then he can have a break). But some kids don’t need breaks; they would rather get their work done.

#3 Timers

I will always recommend using timers whenever possible. Timers can help signal your child’s homework breaks, how long they should spend studying their spelling words, or how long homework time will be. Remember, timers signal to your child what is to happen next so your child doesn’t have to worry about it.

#4 Rewards

Homework time can be REALLY difficult for some children, so it may be a good idea to add in rewards for homework completion. This will help motivate them to complete the work that they need to do.

Your child can earn a reward each night for finishing all of their homework. Maybe they get to choose the dessert for dinner or maybe they can have a special treat or watch their favorite TV show. If you use breaks with your child, maybe your child can earn enhanced breaks, which are breaks + something fun (like coloring, playing with a toy, bubbles, etc.). This enhanced break can be short (think 2-5 minutes) but can really motivate your child to complete their work in chunks.

#5 Easy tasks vs. difficult tasks

Your child may have a lot of tasks to complete during homework time. Some children need to start with easy tasks so they build momentum to complete those more difficult tasks. Some children would rather start with the most difficult task to just get it over with and then to finish the easier task. This will depend on your child and your child’s needs.

#6 Check-ins

Don’t forget about checking-in on your child during homework time! Frequently check in on them and provide them some praise for working diligently on their homework.

If you found all of these tips helpful, don’t forget to share with your friends! Lots of kids and parents really struggle with homework!! And don’t forget to leave a review and subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes.

Be sure to check out all of the resources I have for you at lauralynnlapointe.com!

As promised, here are the rest of the episodes from our Gearing Up for School Series:

Part 1: Morning Routines

Part 2: Bedtime Routines

Part 3: After School Routines

Let’s connect!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today we are continuing with Part 3 of the Gearing Up for School series. We’ve talked about morning routines and we’ve talked about bedtime routines. Today we are going to cover after school routines. Let’s dive in!

First thing is first. After school routines will look differently depending on your child’s age, your child’s grade, your family routine, and ultimately, what each child needs out of his or her after school routine.

An after school routine can include a ton of different activities:

Snack
Chores
Homework
Extracurricular activities, like sports practice
Playtime for the little ones
Downtime for the older ones (like watching TV)
Prepping for the next day (backpack, lunch, clothes, etc.)

When planning out our child’s after school routine, we need to think about what needs to get done and how long each task should take. Snack time will be shorter than homework time and chores. We need to make sure that we give our children enough playtime and downtime so they can recharge their brains.

We also need to think about the order of the activities in the after school routine. For some kids, they need to have a snack right when they get home because they are starving! Some kids want to get their homework out of the way, and they’ll accomplish that first thing. Other kids needs to have some downtime so they can recharge before they are able to jump into the homework.

Whatever your child’s after school routine, it’s important to be consistent and to follow the schedule. Remember, doing so will help your child be successful!

Tune in to next week’s episode which is all about homework routines! And if you need to refill your parenting toolbox, check out my new course Regain Control of Your Child’s Behavior which will give you some new strategies that are easy to use!

If you found this episode helpful, don’t forget to leave a review, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Let’s connect!

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Hi there and welcome! We are continuing with our Gearing Up for School series because I know so many of you are in countdown mode to the new school year. Today I will be talking all about bedtime routines and how to use them to set your child up for success. Let’s do it!

#1 Set a bedtime

If we want our children to be successful in school and in life, they need to have that adequate sleep, so setting a bedtime is a must. Not only do we need to set a bedtime, but we also need to be consistent with that bedtime. This means that our children should follow the same bedtime on weeknights and on the weekend. If we haven’t started following this schedule yet, now’s the time.

#2 Have a bedtime routine

A bedtime routine includes all of the activities that your child needs to accomplish at night to prepare for bed. For example, taking a bath, brushing teeth, putting on pajamas, reading a bedtime story, and a getting a goodnight kiss from mom or dad can all be part of a bedtime routine. It’s best to start the bedtime routine with the most active activity and gradually move to the least active activity to signal to the child’s body that it’s time to prep for going to sleep. Since screen time can be very stimulating for our children’s brains, it’s best to leave out those electronics during the bedtime routine.

We can also include tasks in the bedtime routine to help make the morning routine run a bit smoother. For example, you might have your child lay out clothes for the next day during the bedtime routine to help your child’s morning be less stressful.

If you have established a bedtime routine for your child but you still struggle with keeping your child IN BED once put to bed, check out my Bedtime Pass Mini Course. Using a bedtime pass can help eliminate the problem of those frequent bedrooms exists for something to drink or another hug.

#3 Use visuals if needed

To help your child complete the bedtime routine, create a checklist or visual schedule and post it on the wall in your child’s bedroom. These visuals can really help your child to know what tasks need to be done in the order that they need to be done and to help your child move through the bedtime routine with more independence.

If your child still struggles with moving through the bedtime routine, or any part of the day for that matter, think about the other strategies that you can pull out of your parenting toolbox. Timers or reminder statements may greatly benefit your child in specific situations. To learn more about general parenting tips and strategies, stay tuned for my new course which is all about regaining control of your child’s behavior. This new course will walk you through the most basic parenting advice that I teach to almost all of the parents that I work with, and these tips can be real lifesavers!

As parents, we are all about setting our children up for success for school and for life. Stay tuned for the next two episodes which will continue to provide ways for you to help set your child up for success for the start of school!

If you found this episode helpful, don’t forget to leave a review, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Get all the information you need to get bedtime passes working for you and your kiddo with my mini course, for just $24.99! https://laura-lynn-lapointe.mykajabi.com/bedtime-pass-mini-course

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Hello there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! It’s the end of July and I know a lot of you are gearing up for the new school year. That’s why I’m dedicating these next four episodes to help you get ready for the start of school. Today I’ll be talking all about how to set your child up for success with morning routines. Let’s get started!

#1 Set a wake-up time

When we set a wake-up time for our children, we need to think about (1) what time they need to get out the door to head to school and (2) all of the tasks they need to accomplish in order to make it out the door on time. We don’t want our children to feel rushed in the morning so we need to make sure that we are giving them enough time to get everything that they need to get done in the morning.

We also want to keep in mind that it’s best to keep our children on a consistent routine, and that includes weekends. It’s so easy to knock our children’s sleep out of whack, that’s why it’s important to keep our children’s wake up and sleep times consistent during the week AND on weekends.

If we really want to set our children up for success for the start of the school year, it’s best that we start doing this now! Figure out what your child’s wake up time should be and begin having him or her wake up at that time during these last few weeks of summer. When the first day of school comes around, you’ll be glad you did.

#2 Have a morning routine

A morning routine includes all of the activities that your child needs to accomplish in the morning before heading out for school. For example, waking up, brushing teeth, washing up, doing hair, putting on deodorant, getting dressed, making the bed, and eating breakfast can be a part of your child’s morning routine.

Take the time that you have now to sit down with your child and discuss all of the things that he or she needs to accomplish in the morning in order to get out the door for school. Make a list of everything that needs to be accomplished.

Some children may have a difficult time accomplishing all of these tasks in the morning, but don’t worry! We can use checklists, visuals, timers, and reminders to help our children accomplish all of these tasks.

#3 Prep the night before

Prepping the night before is a sure-fire way to help make mornings less stressful. Have your child get all of his or her school supplies ready to go by the front door before heading to bed. If your child is responsible for making his or her lunch, making lunches is a great thing to prep the night before. For some kids, it’s way too difficult to figure out what they are going to wear in the morning. Pick and lay clothes out the night before.

Like I mentioned earlier, sit down with your child and chat about what things they can the night before in order to make their mornings run a bit smoother. Begin these conversations now and plan out how your child’s mornings will look.

As parents, we are all about setting our children up for success for school and for life. Like I mentioned at the beginning, the next three episodes will provide ways for you to help set your child up for success for the start of school. Stay tuned!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Check out all of the courses I have available for you at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/courses.

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Hello there and welcome! Summer is fun but can be completely overwhelming. That’s why today I’m talking about four practical ways for you to keep your sanity with your kids at home this summer. Let’s dive in!

#1 Keep a schedule

One of the best things to do is to keep a schedule to your day, especially if you are home with your kids all day and every day throughout the summer. Your daily schedule can include play time inside, outside time, what times during the day the kids can have a snack, academic/reading time to keep up on those school skills, and quiet time.

Not only do you want to include those different activities during the day, but you also want to include the specific time that each of those activities happen. Maybe the morning is outside time before it gets too hot and after lunch is quiet time so the little ones can take a nap.

Think about your day and be strategic with what activities occur when. Create a physical schedule that you can post in your home and reference it often!

#2 Follow those routines

Following routines is different than keeping a schedule, and I’m specifically talking about those morning routines and those bedtime routines. Following both of the routines during the summer can definitely help with transitioning back to that school schedule come fall.

Your kids can keep and follow their morning routine by waking up at a certain time, getting dressed, brushing teeth, making their bed, having breakfast, etc. Similarly, they can follow a set bedtime routine: taking a bath, putting on pajamas, brushing teeth, reading a story, and lights out. Remember that following a bedtime routine includes going to bed at a certain time each night. This will really help with that back-to-school transition!

#3 Assign chores

Summer is a great opportunity to assign your children new chores or extra chores. Since they have extra availability, it’s a great time to teach them some new household skills like sorting laundry and washing clothes, taking care of family pets, and gardening. Brainstorm some things that you children can learn for the remainder of the summer that they might not have the time for during the school year. There’s still time left to teach them a new skill!

#4 Provide expectations

You hear me talk often about the importance of providing expectations. The summer can be an especially important time to provide expectations so your children know what to expect during a less structured time of the year.

If there’s a change in your schedule or you’re going somewhere you don’t typically go, providing expectations on what you’re doing, where you’re going, how the daily schedule has changed, and what your children should do and how they should behave can really help maintain that order that keeps your family at peace.

You can do the same when going on a vacation. Let your children know what the day’s events are, what they should know, and how they should behave. Providing these expectations can really be a gamechanger to your summer!

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

And stay tuned as I have another great course coming your way!! You can view my other courses at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/courses.

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Hello and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! Today we are going to talk all about catching those good, desirable behaviors our children do. And yes, ALL children have good behaviors even if they have lots of bad or negative behaviors. Let’s jump in!

If our children have some or lots of inappropriate behaviors, we tend to focus on the bad and negative behaviors we want to change. That’s true with all of life isn’t it? But when we do focus on the negative and inappropriate behaviors too much, we miss out on those good and appropriate behaviors that our children are doing that we can praise.

And our children do engage in plenty of good and appropriate behaviors, even if they have inappropriate behaviors, too, that we can praise! These good and appropriate behaviors don’t have to be the most spectacular behaviors. They can be simple, like:

Chewing with their mouth closed
Putting on their seatbelt without being told
Handing up their jacket
Looking at you when you’re talking
Walking in the house instead of running
Using an inside voice
Playing with a toy the way it is intended to be played with

Our children do, indeed, have good and appropriate behaviors, we just tend to miss them.

The whole point of catching these good behaviors, of noticing these good behaviors, is so we can praise them. And we praise these good behaviors so that they will continue to happen again more often in the future.

I guarantee that if your spouse, friend, or boss ever praised you for doing something good, you probably felt great and did that same thing again. The same is true for our kids! When we praise their good behaviors, they are more likely to do those same good behaviors in the future.

When we praise our children for doing good behaviors, we can be really specific in our praise statement so that they know exactly what it is that we are praising. We can say, “I love how you are chewing with your mouth closed. That is really good table manners.” instead of just saying “cool” or “great.”

Providing praise to our children for their good and desirable behaviors can really make a big difference.

Your homework is to notice, and maybe jot down, three positive behaviors that each of your children did today. Once we get in the habit of noticing the good things that our children do, it will be easier for us to actually praise our children for doing those good behaviors.

If you found this episode helpful, share it with your family and friends, and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast!

Today I want to talk about the three major mess-ups that we make when using rewards with our kids. If you want to get the biggest bang out of rewards with your kids, then listen up!

#1 The size of the reward doesn’t match the difficulty or size of the behavior

If you worked 40 hours a week and only earned $1 total, would you go back to work the next week? Probably not. The same is true with our kids! They aren’t going to be motivated by a reward that is way too small for a really difficult behavior.

If we outline for our child to do chores every day like making his bed, taking out the trash, feeding the dog, and cleaning up the dishes after dinner, do you think that he will be motivated everyday by a high-five or extra TV time. I agree; extra TV time is probably a better reward for our child in this situation.

On the same note, we don’t want to provide an overly extravagant reward for a simple behavior. We don’t want to promise our child a trip to Disney World for pushing in her chair. That’s not realistic.

It’s really important that the size of the reward matches the size or difficulty of the behavior. If it doesn’t, the reward may not be very motivating for our child.

#2 We don’t maintain the reward behavior connection

What do I mean by this? Our child should earn a reward for doing a specific behavior, like completing chores, going pee pee on the potty, or having appropriate mealtime behaviors. Our child should not earn a reward for “being good” or for some other reason that is not specific.

Also, our child should earn a specific reward for completing that behavior. If we allow our child to only have that reward or item when they complete that behavior, then our child will be more motivated to complete the behavior in order to get the reward. If our child has full access to that item throughout the entire day, then he may not do his chores because he knows that he can go play with his iPad in 20 minutes. So, use a specific reward for a specific behavior.

It’s also important to keep in mind that our child cannot lose the reward for a separate inappropriate behavior that is not connected to that reward behavior connection. So, our child shouldn’t lose iPad time for yelling in the house if he earns iPad time for going pee pee on the potty during potty training. We can handle the yelling in a different way.

#3 Providing the reward inconsistently

It’s so important that we make sure that we are consistent with providing rewards to our children.

If our child does X, then we need to provide the reward that we’ve outlined. If our child does not do X, then we also need to NOT provide the reward.

And if we say that we are going to provide a specific reward, we need to make sure that we have that reward on hand, ready, and available for when our child has earned it. There’s nothing worse that not holding up our end of the deal when our child has held up her end of the deal.

Don’t let these three mess-ups get the best of you! Follow the advice and use rewards effectively with your child to get the biggest bang out of the reward. If you liked the episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hi there and welcome!

People always say that a child may be acting out to get attention, but is it true? In today’s episode, we are going to talk all about attention and our children’s desire to have it. Let’s jump in!

So, do children really act out and do inappropriate behaviors like whining, talking like a baby, pouting, sticking their tongue out, etc., to get attention? My answer: yes and no.

Some children may do those behaviors to get attention. Some children may do those behaviors for other reasons (see Episode 15 to learn what some of the other reasons for why a child may do a behavior).

What we do know is that children love attention, and it doesn’t matter what kind of attention.

Children may do bad and inappropriate behaviors like talking back or throwing their food on the floor in order to get negative attention like yelling, reprimands, questions statements, or threats. Children may also do good and appropriate behaviors like using good table manners and sharing their toys in order to get positive attention like hugs, high-fives, and praise statements.

We also know that it’s easier for us to give negative attention than it is to give positive attention. It could be because that’s how we were raised, these are the strategies that we know, and it just seems second nature to us.

It’s a lot easier to yell than it is to deliver praise, isn’t it?

But let’s get back to the fact that children love attention, and it doesn’t matter what kind of attention. Since children love ANY time of attention, wouldn’t it be better to give them positive attention and withhold negative attention?

We can deliver this positive attention and create a more positive home in three ways:

#1 Use behavior-specific praise

When we praise our children for appropriate behaviors, we can label the specific behavior that we are proud of. For example: “I love how you are chewing with your mouth closed.” “Nice job picking up your toys without being asked!” “I love how you are sharing your toys with your sister!”

#2 Use “do” instead of “don’t”

When we tell our children to do something, we can tell them what “to do” instead of what they shouldn’t do or what they should stop. For example, we can say “Use an inside voice.” instead of “Stop screaming!” We can also say, “Keep your hands to yourself.” instead of “Don’t touch that picture frame.”

#3 Avoid commenting on inappropriate behavior

Instead of providing attention to the inappropriate behavior, we can avoid commenting on the behavior. We can avoid yelling and reprimands (e.g., “That is very bad!”). We can also avoid questioning statements (e.g., “Why did you do that? Didn’t you know that you shouldn’t do that?”), threats (e.g., ‘If you break your toys and ruin them then I’m not going to buy you any more toys ever again.”), and overexplaining (e.g., “If you keep being mean to your friends at school then you won’t have any friends and no one will sit with you at lunch and you will be very lonely and will be left out.”)

Isn’t it best case scenario to teach our children that the only way that they will get our attention is by doing good and appropriate behaviors and that they won’t get our attention for doing those inappropriate behaviors?

I’m excited for you to begin implementing these strategies so you can create that positive and peaceful home that you desire! If you liked the episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hey there! I’m so excited to have Dana Stone, a certified sleep consultant and owner of Rest Assured Consulting, join us today to talk all about the biggest mistakes that we parents make when it comes to our child’s sleep. In fact, these five mistakes can potentially lead us down to road of co-sleeping.

When we talk about co-sleeping, we are not talking about the baby/child sleeping in our room. We are really talking about the baby/child sleeping in our bed.

This co-sleeping can be problematic for a number of reasons: it’s not a safe sleeping environment for the child, the parent is not getting the restful sleep that he or she needs, and we are encouraging habits that may not be the best for the child or the parent.

But what sometimes leads us down the road of co-sleeping or bed sharing is desperation. We simply just don’t know what else to do.

Let jump into the five biggest mistakes that we parents make when it comes to our child’s or baby’s sleep, and that sometimes leads us to co-sleeping.

#1 Using external strategies to get baby to sleep

The baby sleep industry is booming right now; there are tons of products that we can buy. However, the more and more baby sleep products there are out there, the more and more it seems that parents are complaining that their children aren’t sleeping.

Any item that your baby uses during his or her journey to sleep is called a sleep prop, but sleep props aren’t necessarily bad. The sleep prop becomes a problem when the prop is dependent on another person, like when you rock your baby to sleep, pat your baby, sing to your baby, feed the baby, or use a paci).

The sleep prop is how they’ve learned how to fall asleep; that’s why you have to use those sleep props all time.

But using a sleep prop is not always bad. It can be bad and affect sleep when the child is dependent on that prop.

#2 Consistency with the message we send from the the brain to the body

Realize that it takes time, weeks, to change sleep patterns. Also realize that the body is controlled by the circadian rhythm. The body’s hormones, like melatonin, tells the body that it’s time to get sleepy.

Sometimes certain things can interrupt the body’s hormones from doing their job the right way, like seeing light. When the baby sees light when he or she should be winding down, the body may not release that needed melatonin.

Following a bedtime routine is a great way for us to be consistent with the message we are sending from the brain to the body. The body is relying on the bedtime routine to know when to produce melatonin.

#3 Keeping baby awake too long during the day

A baby can handle 45 minutes of awake time when he or she is brought home from the hospital. That window grows by about 15 minutes every month for the first year of the baby’s life. By one year old, the baby can handle about 5 hours of awake time.

When we think about naps, it’s not that naps should be at a set time every day like 9:30 and 1:30. What’s important is that we look to see how long they have been awake in between those naps to determine when they should go down for a nap.

You can see problems if you put the baby to bed too early. If the baby can handle only 1 hour of awake time and you put the baby to bed before that, the baby will cry and push back. If you push it in the other direction and keep the baby up too long, the baby will cry and scream because he or she can’t find sleep because the baby is over stimulated.

We really need to ask ourselves this question: Are we giving them the proper chance to sleep in the proper time in the proper environment?

#4 Putting the baby to bed too late

An early bedtime is really critical for the health of our children. This can be difficult if both parents are working because they may have to wake up the baby in the morning.

Since a baby needs 11-12 hours of sleep per night, what time the baby wakes up in the morning affects what time the baby needs to go to bed in order to get the needed amount of sleep.

#5 Being scared of baby crying

We have a history of shushing our babies in our society. When our baby cries in grocery store, we feel anxious.

Here’s the deal. Babies cry. That’s their form of communication and that’s how they process their emotions.

What we need to ask ourselves is, “What’s this crying about?” Are her needs met? Is she hungry, cold, or wet? Sometimes the baby could be tired.

Instead of worrying, we should sit back and evaluate the situation.

We need to change our mentality and mindset around crying and take some anxiety off of ourselves. This will only help the situation. If we are calm, the baby feeds off of our calmness. If we are anxious, it’s going to be difficult for the baby to calm down.

As parents we get so busy and caught up that we forget how important these things really are. Parenting is a unique journey. Everyone is going to do it differently. No matter what’s going on, you’re probably killing it.

Thanks so much to our guest, Dana Stone. You can find her at www.sleep4babies.com or at www.restassuredconsulting.com.

If you like this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hi there and welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! I’m so happy you’ve joined!

Recently, a parent asked me why her son is hitting others, including herself. I know this mama is not the only parent who is currently experiencing a child who is hitting. That’s why I’ve dedicated this episode to explain why a child may hit (and the reasons may surprise you!).

In today’s episode I will cover three main reasons for why your child may hit others. It’s gonna be a doozie. Let’s jump in, shall we?

The question “Why is my child hitting?” is a question that a lot of parents ask for obvious reasons:

They don’t want their child hitting or hurting other people or himself;
It’s simply not “good” to hit; and
Hitting is not an appropriate social behavior.

And many children, even starting in the toddler years, may go through a phase of hitting. Why? Because hitting “works” for that child.

I know that you hear me say that a lot: “X behaviors works for the child, that’s why they keep doing it.”

But what do I exactly mean when I say a behavior “works” for a child?

It’s easy. The child is hitting for a reason, most likely a “social” reason, meaning that the reason for the hitting somehow involves other people. For example, a child may hit in order to get a specific type of attention from an adult… this is social since it involves another person.

But ultimately, your child probably continues to hit because when he does, he continues to get the same result he is looking for.

What are those results? Let’s jump in to the three main reasons for why a child may hit.

#1 To get attention

Your child may hit because he likes the attention of being reprimanded or questioned or yelled at. Remember, children LOVE attention. They want to get attention whether it's good attention (like praise statements, hugs, high-fives, or thumbs up) or negative attention (like questioning statements, threats, reprimands, or being yelled at). So, it is a possibility that your child may hit in order to get some sort of attention from you.

#2 To get out of a task

Your child may hit because he wants to get out of a task that he doesn't want to do, like picking up toys. It could be that every time your child hits when it's time to clean up toys, he gets sent to his room and DOESN'T have to pick up the toys. In this situation, the hitting "worked" for your child. He didn't want to pick up the toys, he hit someone, he got sent to his room, and he didn't have to pick up the toys. The scenario ended the way he wanted it to.

#3 To maintain access to toys/things

Your child could also hit because another sibling or peer is playing with the toy that he likes or wants or the sibling or peer is trying to take his toy away from him. In this situation, your child may hit in order to prevent that sibling or peer from messing with his toys. For the same reason, your child could also hit you if you are restricting his toys. Ultimately, your child is hitting in order to maintain his toys so that his toys aren't restricted from him.

While I just outlined three major possibilities for why your child is hitting, there is another possibility: your child may be hitting for more than one reason, for a combination of reasons!

In one scenario your child may hit to get attention but in a different scenario your child may hit in order to block others from taking his toys.

Or, in one instance your child may hit to get out of a task that he doesn't want to do but in a different instance your child may hit in order to get attention.

So realize that your child could be hitting for more than one reason.

Once we attempt to determine the reason for why our child is hitting, we can then do something about it.

As a refresher, your child may hit in order to:

Gain attention
Escape from a task that he doesn't like
Maintain access to his things, like toys

If your child hits, why do you think he's hitting?

My hope is that with this new knowledge you feel empowered in your parenting. If you liked the episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

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Hi there! Today’s episode is all about the not so fun job of dealing with nighttime toileting accidents. Today, I will be sharing the three secrets of preventing the untimely bedwetting accidents.

You devoted a lot of your time to daytime potty training but nighttime potty training can be a whole other ballgame. It’s actually very common and likely that you will need to potty train for daytime toileting and nighttime toileting separately.

It makes a lot of sense for why that’s the case. Ultimately, going to the bathroom during the daytime and going to the bathroom in the middle of the night include a different set of circumstances (think of light vs. darkness and being active during the day vs. sleeping at night). Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night is a much different skill than going to the bathroom during the day. This is why you may need to do some nighttime toilet training.

Let’s jump into the three secrets and strategies that I recommend to parents to prevent nighttime bedwetting accidents.

#1 Limit fluid intake before going to bed

Once you child has dinner, limit the amount of fluids that your child drinks following dinnertime to bedtime. You will want to restrict fluids after dinner. This strategy really does make sense: the less fluid that your child has in his or her body in the middle of the night, the less likely he or she will have a bedwetting accident.

#2 Have your child sit on the potty right before going to bed

Having your child use the bathroom right before bed is a step that you should incorporate into your child’s bedtime routine. Going to the bathroom right before bed eliminates any fluid that the child has in his or her bladder, and can definitely help prevent those bedwetting accidents.

#3 Before you go to bed, prompt your child to sit on the potty one more time

After your child is asleep and right before you go to bed, gentle wake up your child and prompt him or her to use the bathroom one more time. This can be a really effective strategy to prevent those bedwetting accidents if your child does have some fluid that he or she needs to eliminate.

I really hope that these three secrets to preventing bedwetting accidents will be very helpful for you and your child!

If you like this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with your friends!

Oh, I want to tell you about one more thing! I am hosting a FREE and LIVE virtual workshop on Regaining Control of Your Child’s Behavior at Home June 10-14, 2019 at 8:00 PM CST within my Facebook Business Page.

I’ve got some of the BEST strategies to share that can really help you regain some control at home. Come join me!

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If you are new here, welcome to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast! I’m happy to have you! Today’s episode has been inspired by the many parents who wonder why their child behaves appropriately in one setting and then misbehaves in a different setting. In this episode, I talk about how changes in the environment can affect your child’s behavior.

You notice that your child functions really well at home: your child follows directions, plays nicely, is kind, etc. However, your child’s teacher reports about different behaviors in the classroom: not following directions, not sitting still, interacting poorly with other children, etc.

Or, it could be the reverse. Your child behaves really well at school but has a difficult time at home. This could be true for any environment: Sunday school, daycare, the park, a birthday party, or when one parent is home versus when two parents are home.

The environment is full of factors that can affect behavior. The amount of attention or the type of attention that your child receives can affect behavior. Whether there are lots of demands placed on your child or no demands placed on your child can affect behavior. The amount of people in a setting can affect behavior. Whether an environment has good structure and routine versus no structure and routine can affect behavior. Behavior can also be affected by whether preferred items, such as toys, are available and present or if they are out of sight or unavailable. Noises, loud noises or soft noises, can affect behavior. There are TONS of factors that can affect behavior.

If we step outside and it’s cold, we go back inside to grab a jacket. The same is true for our child’s behavior. If our child doesn’t receive attention in a specific environment, she may misbehave in order to receive that environment. But she may not have this problem in another environment because she is receiving that attention for her appropriate behavior in that environment.

Children engage in different behaviors or do different behaviors because there is something, the absence or the presence of something, that is influencing the way that they respond.

Like I always mention, knowledge is power. If you are questioning why your child behaves one way in one environment and a different way in another environment, stop and evaluate that similarities and difference about the two environments. How are they alike? How are they different? With this information you may learn something new about your child’s behavior and can then make changes to help your child function the best in all environments.

If you loved this episode, you’ll love the monthly webinars within The Parenting Clubhouse membership where I dive deep into the science of behavior. Come check it out at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/membership.

Let’s connect!

On Instagram: www.instagram.com/lauralynnlapointe

Learn more at: www.lauralynnlapointe.com

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This episode is all about whether behavioral strategies actually work and what we can do to help make them as effective as possible. We are talking about this today because it is so easy to get hung up and distracted by whether these strategies actually work. When we do doubt, that doubt affects the way we parent and affects how, or if, we use these strategies.

First, let’s talk about what I mean when I say behavioral strategies. Behavioral strategies are tools we add to our child’s environment to help address the inappropriate behaviors and/or to help increase the appropriate behaviors. First-then statements, providing choices, using timers, providing behavior-specific praise, and not providing attention to inappropriate behaviors are just a few examples of some simple behavioral strategies that are easy to understand and use. Reward systems, token boards, time outs, and behavior contracts are more complex behavioral strategies that can definitely work but they may have a few more steps to them.

So, does these behavioral strategies actually work?

First, not every strategy will solve every problem. Timers may be great for a child who is inattentive but it may not work as well for another child in a different situation. First-then statements may work great for younger kiddos but they may not work as well for older children. These strategies can definitely work for the right child, in the right situation, and if they are used in the right way.

Second, behavioral strategies are not magic pills. They won’t solve every problem and you may need additional strategies to really help improve a situation. It’s not like you throw a timer into your child’s life and suddenly everything is perfect. There are lots of things that need to happen and take place in order for you to see improvements, but it’s not as difficult as you think!

Behavioral strategies can be extremely helpful, and they can definitely be game-changers for your child’s life. And there’s plenty of science to back up the effectiveness of these strategies!

But here’s the deal, I can tell you all day long how effective these strategies are. What will really get you to believe in the strategies is if you use them yourself and experience the success and effectiveness from the strategies.

If you want to help make these strategies as effective as possible, consistency is key. You need to consistently use these strategies, not just when you feel like it. You can’t expect that a behavior contract is going to work if you don’t hold up your end of the bargain. You can’t expect that junk behavior is going to decrease if you continue to occasionally provide attention to the junk behavior.

Trying a strategy one time is not enough to know whether it’ll work. Your child is learning this new way of life with this strategy in place, and that takes time. While lots of parents get hung up in the doubt and questions, stay consistent and you’ll see that these strategies do, indeed, work!

Let’s connect!

Join my free private Facebook Group, The Parenting Clubhouse! https://www.facebook.com/groups/theparentingclubhouse/

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Learn more at: www.lauralynnlapointe.com

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This episode is all about using first-then statements to help target your child’s transition difficulties. If you’ve never heard of first-then statements, you will love this episode because they are so easy to use and they can make a big difference on your child’s transitions.

So what is a first-then statement? A first-then statement is a statement that we deliver to our child to indicate (1) the task that the child needs to complete and (2) what the child can do once they complete that original task. For example, “First do your homework and then you can play video games.” “First wash your hands and then you can have a snack.” “First color and then you can play with the play-doh.”

We use first-then statements when a child needs to complete a task, when a child has a difficult time with transitions (like cleaning up a mess and moving on to the next thing), when a child has to do a task that is not very fun, or if the child has a hard time focusing on the task. Using first-then statements taps in to the child’s motivation: the child is motivated to complete the task because of the fun thing they get to do afterwards.

It’s easy to use first-then statements and it doesn’t take a lot of time. Simply use the phrase: “First _____ and then _______.” First, you want to indicate the task that the child needs to complete, like cleaning her room. Then, you want to indicate what the child can do once the task is complete, like playing with toys. Remember, the thing that the child gets to do once the task is complete is more fun than the original task. The first-then statement used in this example is: “First clean your room and then you can play with toys.”

Remember, it’s really important to remain consistent. If you use a first-then statement, the child needs to complete that original task BEFORE they can do that fun activity. Otherwise, this strategy won’t be very effective.

Using first-then statements is easier than you think, and, with practice, you’ll be a pro! Today, use one first-then statement on your child and see what you think!

If you want more parenting strategies like this one, check The Parenting Clubhouse Membership which is loaded with TONS of parenting resources to help you keep your sanity! Check it out here: https://laura-lynn-lapointe.mykajabi.com/membership

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Today we are chatting about one of the elements that is at the core of parenting and managing your child’s behavior. In this episode, I will be talking about the parenting recommendation of “ignoring” your child’s inappropriate behavior and discussing if we are actually “parenting” our children when we do this.

When we “ignore” our child’s inappropriate behavior, we are NOT providing attention to that inappropriate behavior. On the outside, it seems harsh that we are ignoring our child, but it’s not!

We ignore our child’s behavior when he engages in junk behavior, those minor misbehaviors that are annoying, bothersome, and minor, like talking like a baby, whining, pouting, and rolling eyes. Junk behavior is minor; it is not dangerous or harmful to other people, to the child, or to property. Aggression, damaging property, and hurting oneself is not junk behavior. We respond differently to those more serious behaviors.

We also ignore, or not provide attention to, our child’s inappropriate behaviors when he is likely doing the behavior to get attention. If we provide attention for those inappropriate behaviors, we are giving the child exactly what he wants, but if we do NOT provide attention for those inappropriate behaviors, we are teaching the child that he does NOT get what he wants when he does those inappropriate things.

When we ignore inappropriate behavior we are teaching the child this isn’t how you will get my attention. Even if the child is doing the inappropriate behavior to get something other than attention, we still don’t want the child to receive any positive (like our attention) from us.

The big question remains: are we actually parenting our children when we ignore their inappropriate behavior? Absolutely yes! In the moment, when we do not provide attention for inappropriate behavior, we are teaching our children that this is not how you will get my attention. We ARE directly teaching our children and directly handling our children’s inappropriate behavior.

And here’s the deal: it isn’t bad to ignore our children’s inappropriate behavior. We are teaching them in the moment that the behavior isn’t going to work for them, they aren’t going to get what they want when they do those inappropriate behaviors, and we do this without using words. It can be really effective to not provide attention to inappropriate behavior, and we don’t just ignore behavior all of the time. We will also provide attention for the appropriate behaviors which teaches our children that doing the appropriate things will get them the attention that they want.

While it may seem “harsh” to ignore our child’s inappropriate behavior, it’s not! We can reframe our language about it, though. We can say that we are not providing preferred attention for the child’s inappropriate behavior. Don’t let anyone convince you that “ignoring” your child’s inappropriate behavior is not parenting… it most definitely is!

Don’t forget about open enrollment for The Parenting Clubhouse Membership which is jam packed with TONS of resources for busy parents like you! Check it out here!

Learn more at http://lauralynnlapointe.com

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Today’s episode is on such a hot topic because we all fear the looks and comments from others when our children misbehave in public. In this episode, I will put this situation into perspective and give you ways to respond when others put their nose in your parenting business.

We’ve all experienced this scenario: you’re in the grocery store with your child who throws a fit because he can’t have that sugar cereal. The tantrum continues as you move throughout the grocery store, and you notice others looking. Some even make comments like:

“You just need to get your kid under control.”

“Looks like someone is spoiled.”

“Must be nap time.”

“Parents just don’t know how to discipline these days.”

Putting it into Perspective

Let’s put this situation into perspective. Hearing these words and seeing their body language isn’t fun. You know you’re a good parent and you’re handling the situation the right way. Rest in this fact. You’re good. You’re covered.

Who are they to cast judgement? They don’t know your situation. Plus, you may know something about your child’s behavior that they don’t. Remember, you have the upper hand here.

Way to Respond

You can do one of two things to respond to the comments:

#1 Ignore

Just as you ignore (don’t provide attention to) your child’s inappropriate behavior, don’t provide attention to their inappropriate behavior. If they don’t deserve your energy, don’t give it to them.

#2 Speak Up

You can confidently and politely say, “We are learning here.” “I’m teaching manners.” “I’ve got this.” But be prepared that they will say something back.

Remember that you’re not alone. All of us parents go through this exact situation AT LEAST once in our parenting life. If you need some more support from like-minded parents, join the 14-day FREE trial of The Parenting Clubhouse Membership! Within the membership you are able to share your joys and struggles and brainstorm with me and other parents on how to handle situations like this one!

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For those of you who have a toddler running around in diapers, this episode is for you. Today I will be sharing three of my potty training secrets to help you get started with potty training.

Potty training can be intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. Follow these three secrets and you’ll be off to a good start!

Secret #1: Wear Underwear

During potty training, have your child wear underwear instead of diapers or pull-ups. Your child will practice the skills of pulling up and down pants and underwear which is important for your child’s potty independence. Wearing underwear is important if your child has a potty accident. Your child will feel the negative and yucky sensation of being wet which may help him or her to become potty trained.

Secret #2: Increase Fluid Intake

All this means is for your child to drink lots of water or whatever drink of choice throughout potty training. Why? If our child is sitting on the potty a lot, especially during the first few days of potty training, then the child need to have fluids in his or her body to expel in order to get practice with actually going pee pee on the potty. How should you get your child to drink extra fluids? Offer your child a drink every few minutes and have the water bottle follow your child around throughout the day.

Secret #3: Use Rewards

This secret makes sense and a lot of parents already do it, but it’s an important one. When your child goes pee pee on the potty, throw a mini potty party with praise and a small reward or treat. Providing rewards can actually increase the likelihood that your child will go pee pee again on the potty in the future. Some easy rewards to use are small trinkets, stickers, one piece of candy, 2 minutes on the iPad, or a small snack.

Follow these three secrets and you will be on your way to potty training your child.

Potty training can be difficult and intimidating at times, but don’t give up! If you need a little extra help and guidance, check out my potty training course Potty Training Made Easy. In the course, I walk you through the step-by-step potty training process that I use and I provide you all of the resources that you’ll need to potty train your child.

If you want other tips and advice, check out The Parenting Clubhouse Membership. It’s filled with tons of content to help bring sanity back into your parenting journey.

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I am excited to talk about ways to manage those cookie monsters you have in your house. All kidding aside, this episode so for you if you have a child who is a constant snacker.

The reason why we are talking about snacks? It’s healthy for children to have boundaries in the kitchen surrounding food. A bedtime routine is any event leading up to bedtime that prepares your child for bed. I will provide five strategies to establish those boundaries.

How you run snack time and meal-time looks different for all families. What we can all agree on is that it’s best for children to not have unlimited access and choices in the kitchen, otherwise they may eat junk food all day.

Good food habits and snack time boundaries are important for every child. Here are five tops to begin establishing those boundaries:

Provide choices of snacks: during snack time, provide two choices to your child. Providing choices will help your child actually choose a snack and will keep you in control of what your child is eating.
Schedule when snack time occurs: designate when snack time will be so your child has an expectation. You can be as specific (e.g., at 9:30 AM) or as lenient (e.g., sometime in between lunch and dinner) as you want.
Set a timer: use a timer to indicate when snack time will be. This help your child quit asking you when the next snack time is.
Set limitations: for those children who tend to not eat dinner and then eat snacks 20 minutes later, break that habit by having them eat so many bites of their food before being done with dinner or allowing no snacks after dinner.
Setup a specific snack spot: allow your child to have a specific area in the kitchen where his snacks are held. When it’s snack time, he can go pick out his snack on his own.

One important thing to keep in mind is children who have not have food available throughout their childhood. For such children, avoid putting too many limits on food. We want to teach them that food is available now and that it will be available tomorrow, not that they can’t have food.

If you want more awesome tips and strategies, check out The Parenting Clubhouse Membership (www.lauralynnlapointe.com/membership), and don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a 1 year subscription to The Parenting Clubhouse Membership for FREE. You can enter the giveaway by:

Subscribing to the podcast
Leaving a podcast review
Joining the 14 day FREE trial
Invite friends to join the membership

The winner will be announced on Monday, April 22nd!

Let’s connect! Join The Parenting Clubhouse Facebook Group and introduce yourself!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/theparentingclubhouse

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Episode 6 covers the importance of teaching sharing and taking turns in our children and the ways to teach these play skills with our children from an early age.

Sharing and taking turns are not skills that our children are born with knowing how to do. As parents, we need to be intentional with teaching and practicing these skills with our children.

It’s as simple as getting on the floor with your kiddo and providing the opportunity for your child to practice sharing and taking turns. Give your child the opportunity to share by asking your child if you can have a turn with the toy, and then prompt your child to say “Sure, you can have a turn” and guiding your child to give that toy to you. Similarly with asking for a turn, prompt your child to say to you “Can I have a turn with that?” and then give your child a turn with that toy. And remember, it’s so important to praise your child for nice asking for a turn and nice sharing to help encourage them to continue to practice those skills.

Practice makes progress so, as parents, we need to be diligent with practicing these skills everyday with our children. Set a timer for 5 minutes and spend time practicing sharing and taking turns with your child each day. If you have two children, you can practice sharing and taking turns with both of them at the same time!

If you want more tips and strategies like this, check out my new membership: The Parenting Clubhouse Membership! To help get parents excited about the membership and to give you the opportunity to snag the membership for FREE, I’m doing a giveaway for one lucky parent to win the membership for FREE for an ENTIRE YEAR (that’s a $350 value!)! Each of the following will earn you one entry into the drawing:

Subscribe to The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast (available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify)
Leave a review on one or all episodes (each review will count as an entry into the giveaway)
Join the 14 day FREE trial of The Parenting Clubhouse Membership
Invite friends to join! You will earn and entry for each friend that joins the membership. Just post in The Parenting Clubhouse Facebook Group the name of your friend who joined with the hashtag #TPCgiveaway

The winner of the giveaway will be announced on Monday, April 22nd!!

You can find all the info about the membership at www.lauralynnlapointe.com/membership. I can’t wait for you to join!

Let’s connect! Join The Parenting Clubhouse Facebook Group and introduce yourself!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/theparentingclubhouse

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Episode 5 is all about how to not feel guilty when you don’t give in to your child’s inappropriate and unwanted behavior.

Sometimes you just feel bad for not giving your child what she wants, even if she’s trying to get what she wants in an inappropriate way. I know you’ve felt that guilt and I have, too.

You could be at a furniture store when your child spots a furry chair that she wants to sit in. You let her sit in it and, after a few minutes go by, it’s time to go and get on with your shopping. Your child has a different agenda. Once you tell her it’s time to go, here come the tears and the cries. This moment can be hard, and you may feel a lot of different emotions: embarrassed for the disruption, sad because your child is upset and you made her that way, or bad because you wish you could give your child everything she wants.

To overcome those feelings of guilt, think about and do these things:

Knowledge is power. When you truly understand what you’re doing in your parenting, that you’re teaching your child in the moment that she can’t get what she wants when she’s acting in an inappropriate way, the guilt is less likely to be there.
Just like I talked about in Episode 4 about Behavior Bursts, you know that it’s important to not give in, especially when your child’s tantrum is getting worse.
Provide direction teaching and instruction in the moment. Instruct your child to ask for one more minute in the chair and then set a timer for that 1 minute. When the timer goes off, it’s time to leave. Or, get on the floor and instruct your child to ask for a turn instead of taking a toy from a friend.

Know that you are doing the right thing for your child. It’s better for her to learn the appropriate skills and the appropriate ways to get what she wants, like by asking for a turn instead of taking a toy or asking for one more minute in the chair than crying.

A parent who understands these things, who understands that we are doing right by our child, is the kind of parent who both you and I want to be.

My hope is that this episode has encouraged you for those moments when you do feel bad that your child can’t have everything that she wants.

If this episode was helpful for you, don’t forget to share it with your friends, subscribe, and leave a review!

Let’s connect! Join The Parenting Clubhouse Facebook Group and introduce yourself!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/theparentingclubhouse

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If you’ve ever decided to no longer give in to your child’s unwanted behavior, like no longer giving your child a candy bar at the grocery store when he whines, pouts, and throws a fit, you’ve most likely experienced what a behavior burst is.

A behavior burst occurs when you withhold and no longer provide reinforcement (whatever is increasing or continuing your child’s unwanted behavior, like that candy bar) for your child’s unwanted behavior. And let’s face it, your child is used to getting that candy bar when he whines, pouts, and throws a fit. What results is an increase in inappropriate behavior as an attempt of your child trying to get what he wants.

When you do this, when you withhold that thing your child wants when he is being inappropriate, you are likely to see increases in those unwanted behaviors. Yikes! But I’ve got good news for you… if you continue to stand firm and not give in to those inappropriate behaviors, those inappropriate behaviors will decrease and will likely go away.

It’s important to be prepared when you decide to no longer give in to your child’s inappropriate behavior and to understand that behavior will likely get worse. When behavior does get worse, you can rest assured that you are doing the right thing; you expected behavior to get worse, yet you know that if you continue to not give in, those inappropriate behaviors will decrease.

What’s REALLY important is to stand firm, especially when behaviors get worse. If you decide that you can’t handle it anymore and you give your child that candy bar when he is throwing a full on tantrum, the next time you’re in the grocery store and your child wants a candy bar, he will immediately go straight to the tantrum because he knows that it works.

Remember to stand firm, be consistent, and resist those increases in inappropriate behaviors when you decide to no longer give in to your child’s unwanted behaviors.

If you need some encouragement, want to share your experiences with behavior bursts, or have a story to tell, head on over to the The Parenting Clubhouse Facebook Group to connect: http://www.facebook.com/groups/theparentingclubhouse

I can’t wait to hear about how the understanding of a behavior burst has changed the way you parent!

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I am PUMPED to bring you the information you need about how a bedtime routine can be a GAME-CHANGER to your child’s sleep!

A bedtime routine is any event leading up to bedtime that prepares your child for bed. If a bedtime routine is followed inconsistently or doesn’t exist at all, it can influence your child’s sleep in a negative way.

When I receive referrals for children who have sleep problems, the first thing I always ask parents is whether or not the child follows a bedtime routine and what the bedtime routine is.

You see, a bedtime routine is more than just a good practice to follow. According to Mindell and colleagues (2015), a consistent bedtime routine promotes better sleep outcomes like fewer nighttime awakening, less time falling asleep, and fewer reported behavior problems.

Bedtime routines are important. If your child doesn’t have a bedtime routine or if you’re uncertain if your child’s bedtime routine helps prepare the child for bed, here are some tips:

Follow the same routine each night.
Start the routine with the most active activity and end with the least active activity.
Minimize the amount of light throughout the bedtime routine, including electronic light.
Use a visual routine schedule.
End the bedtime routine with a calming activity, like cuddling or reading a book.

Need some love? Hop on over to the The Parenting Clubhouse Facebook Group and share your child’s bedtime routine. We can’t wait to support you! http://www.facebook.com/groups/theparentingclubhouse

As promised, here’s the reference to the research study I mentioned in the episode:

Mindell, J. A., Li, A. M., Sadeh, A., Kwon, R., Goh, D. Y. (2015). Bedtime routines for young children: A dose-dependent association with sleep outcomes. Sleep, 38, 717-722. Doi:10.5665.sleep.4662

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Do you want to take your parenting from mediocre to extraordinary?!

I’m here to help you set some goals for your parenting journey and to empower you to make positive changes in your parenting.

But why? Why are parenting goals important?

If you want to change your child’s behavior, the reality is that you will need to change your behavior, and that’s no bad thing. If you are making positive changes with your parenting, the power is now in your hands, and that’s an incredible thing!

But here’s the deal. I gotta get real with you. If you want to be change something about your parenting routine, you need to be in the right place, to have the right motivation, and to have the right frame of mind in order to do that. We all know that it’s not easy to be the best parent when we are tired, hungry, dehydrated, or down.

So what needs to change in your life to put you in the right place to be ready to take your parenting journey by the horns?

To make those positive changes within your parenting you need to set some goals. Here’s how to do it:

Pick your goal. Make sure that it is something you are doing (like praising more) and not just stopping (like quitting all the yelling). Make sure you can measure it (how many times is it happening in a day) and start with a small goal.
Write it out. Know what your goal is and put reminders throughout your house.
Monitor yourself. Did you accomplish your goal for the day?
Have an accountability partner.

Don’t forget to join The Parenting Clubhouse Facebook Group so we can share our parenting goals and encourage each other throughout the day! http://www.facebook.com/groups/theparentingclubhouse

Now get at those goals!

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I am so excited to share The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast with you! This podcast is for you if you’re a busy parent who wants to bring some sanity to your life and home.

In this episode, I wanted to share a little bit about myself:

Who I am
How I got started with behavior analysis
Why I started The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast and www.lauralynnlapointe.com
And what services I offer that can bring some sanity to your life

Having been a behavior analyst since 2015 and a momma since April 2018, multiple things have motivated me to start this business and to start this podcast. Having other moms ask me about their child’s behavior, seeing not the best advice offered to parents on social media, and seeing parents uncertain about what resources to trust have all led me to start this business and podcast.

I am here to help you and to provide you with parenting resources that can be easily implemented, effortlessly understood, and available when you need them most! I know you’re a busy parent with a million things going on… that’s why I’m bringing you these easy tools and strategies in a practical way.

To give you a brief preview of what I have in store for you, I have a number of different avenues to give you quality and trusted resources:

The Potty Training Made Easy course will walk you through the step-by-step process that I use to potty train children: http://www.lauralynnlapointe.com/potty-training-course
The Bedtime Pass Mini Course is such an easy tool to help your younger children with those bedtime behaviors: http://www.lauralynnlapointe.com/bedtime-pass-mini-course
Want to see me speak in person? I can come to you for a live workshop to give you all the info you need to know about potty training, sleep problems in children, and best practice strategies: http://www.lauralynnlapointe.com/work-with-me
The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast will give you the info you need to know about parenting, your child’s behavior, and to help you understand that fancy lingo that professionals use. Also, I’ve got some AMAZING guest speakers in store for you!
Let’s connect! Join The Parenting Clubhouse Facebook Group and introduce yourself! http://www.facebook.com/groups/theparentingclubhouse

Don’t forget about the other three episodes that launched today. Go check them out, leave me a review, and come join me in The Parenting Clubhouse Facebook Group!

Thanks for joining me in this crazy thing called parenting!

The Parenting Clubhouse Podcast: Recent Episodes

Laura Lynn LaPointe, Parent Coach