I recently attended a blogger retreat called Breathing Space. I met many wonderful women who inspired me to blog about my passions. I already have a DIY craft blog (feel free to explore it here) but my real passion is parenting. Specifically parenting with love and logic.

I am not a perfect parent. I think that goes without saying. But there have been times when I felt significantly less than perfect. I've yelled, spanked, and allowed my buttons to be pushed. I've been so frustrated that I literally just put the children in their rooms and gave myself a time out.

That being said, I am always looking to improve myself as a Mother. Reading parenting books, attending classes and talking with other moms. I was really tired of being angry at my children all the time. I really love being a mom and being angry and frustrated was taking away some of the joy of being a mother.

Then I read a book. "Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood:Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years" . It was AMAZING! It really fit my existing parenting style and it gave me the tools necessary to stop being an angry mom. Then I attend a 5 week class provided by the local school district and I was able to expand my knowledge of the principles and tools that love and logic offers and principles.

The principles are very simple.

1) Lock in the empathy.. Letting a child know you understand that they are upset and that you feel for them goes a long way.


2) Let the consequences do the teaching.. NO lectures, nagging, or threats. Just simply enforce the natural consequences of a child's behavior and let their choice be the bad guy.


Here is an example from the love and logic web site

Dad: "Oh, no. You left your bike unlocked and it was stolen. What a bummer. I bet you feel awful. Well, I understand how easy it is to make a mistake like that." (Notice that the parent is not leading with anger, intimidation, or threats.)

Dad then adds, "And you'll have another bike as soon as you can earn enough money to pay for it. I paid for the first one. You can pay for the additional ones."


That's mostly it. There are several tools that love and logic employs to help you to stick to these two principles. I will be discussing each of them in detail as well as discussing my own day and how well (or poorly) I used my love and logic tools.

Happy Parenting!