I invite you to get comfortable.
Let your shoulders drop.
Place one hand on your chest,
One on your belly.
Inhale through your nose for a count of four.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale slowly for six.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Let's repeat two more times.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Let your jaw soften.
You can unclench the tongue from the roof of the mouth.
Let your eyes rest heavy or close them if you like.
Bring your attention to the rise and fall of your breath.
Imagine you're breathing in steadiness and breathing out tension.
In steadiness,
Out tension.
Set an intention in a single sentence.
I'm here to remember my child's goodness and to be the sturdy,
Kind leader they need.
Let's say it together.
I'm here to remember my child's goodness and to be the sturdy,
Kind leader they need.
Bring your mind to your child.
Not a perfect photo,
But a living moment.
The way they run,
The way they concentrate.
The tiny crease by their eye when they're trying not to smile.
Let the picture be ordinary.
Ordinary is where love lives.
Now recall a recent hard moment.
Cheekiness,
Defiance,
The eye roll,
The big no.
See it briefly as if on a small screen at arm's length.
Notice what happens in your body.
Maybe a clench in the chest or heat in the face.
Say to yourself,
Of course that was hard.
Drop your shoulders again.
Now let's whisper the cue phrase,
Good kid tricky moment.
Again,
Good kid tricky moment.
Feel the difference as those words land.
Behavior is a signal.
Goodness is the call.
Now let's let two truths sit side by side.
Truth number one,
I can hold the limit.
Truth two,
And I can care about the feeling.
Let's repeat,
I hold the limit,
I care about the feeling.
Feel your spine lengthen a touch as you say it.
Now shift the lens to yourself,
The part you control.
Breathe in for four,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Out for six,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Ask very gently,
What's actually mine to do here?
Perhaps it's one clear boundary.
Perhaps it's one calm sentence.
Perhaps it's silence and a hand on a shoulder.
Let the rest fall away.
Is this necessary?
If not,
Let it go on the out-breath.
Picture your child's nervous system in that hard moment.
Like a shaken snow globe,
Thoughts and feelings whirling.
Your job is not to shout at the snow.
It's to set the globe down.
Say now,
I am the calm place.
I am safe to lean on.
Feel your breath doing that job.
Job already.
Now recall a small vivid memory of delight.
Muddy knees after the park.
The dramatic retelling of a playground saga.
The intense focus over a Lego build.
The way they once fell asleep on your shoulder.
Heavy and trusting.
Let yourself smile.
Not a grin,
Just the corners.
That smile is your light touch.
Keep it.
Repeat these mantras slowly,
Like stepping stones.
I'm going to read them out a few times.
My child is good inside.
All feelings are welcome.
All actions are guided.
Connection first,
Then correction when the storm has passed.
Two things are true.
Kind and firm.
Good kid,
Tricky moment.
I'll say them again.
My child is good inside.
All feelings are welcome.
All actions are guided.
Connection first,
Then correction when the storm has passed.
Two things are true.
Kind and firm.
Good kid,
Tricky moment.
Imagine a future version of you later today.
Post-meltdown.
Post-tears.
Sitting together with a snack.
Retelling what happened with gentle humor.
That was a big wobble,
Wasn't it?
Hear the soft laugh you share when the charge has gone.
Feel a bond that grows when repaid.
Care is simple and honest.
Let that warmth wash through your chest.
Now a short,
Compassionate check-in with yourself.
Where did I carry too much today?
Breathe out the extra.
Where did I do enough today?
Breathe in that truth.
If there's an apology you owe,
Imagine offering it plainly.
I'm sorry I snapped.
I'm working on my big feelings.
I'm on your side.
Notice how repair knits you closer,
Not smaller.
Bring your attention back to your child.
See them asleep.
Or busy at play.
Or bouncing through the door.
Whisper as if they can hear your steady voice and everything.
I'm on your side.
I'm on your side.
You're safe harbor.
I'll be the grown-up you can borrow calm from.
We'll figure it out together.
Breathe in for four,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Out for six,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Last one.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Inhale,
Keep going.
And on the next exhale,
Release any story that paints your child as a problem to be solved.
Replace it with a quieter sentence.
Parenting is something I get to do.
Feel how that softens the day.
To close,
Place a hand on your chest.
Name one simple thing you'll do next time a moment heats up.
One line,
One action,
One limit.
Keep it small and specific.
Say it once.
Like,
When voices rise,
I'll kneel and speak one calm sentence.
Or,
I'll pause,
Breathe,
And touch their shoulder before I talk.
Let it settle.
Now,
Thank you for showing up.
Stand,
If you like,
With a little more length in your spine.
And carry this thought into the day.
I can be sturdy and kind.
My child is good inside.
We'll meet the moment together.
Final breath in and out.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
