Is the glass half empty or half full?  In all of my years working as a supervisor for treatment programs I have seen one thing consistently.   The clients change easier than the staff.  When the staff changes their perspective, often the clients act and think differently.   When I see my staffs’ potential they eventually rise to the situation.

When I believe in my child by   acting “as if” we’re going to get through this problem by taking one moment/ problem at a time I’ve done all I can do. The problems are not as bad as they may feel in the moment.  Like depression, it hurts…but most depression hits a bottom and doesn’t get worse, it just wears us out, we get tired of the pain, problem and no end.   The solution is you do what you need to do now and find the moments of rest and good.  They are almost always there, look.

Application:   Discipline one issue at a time, teach and re-teach, use rewards and consequence consistently, find the fun moments in between.  Believe… almost all kids work it out.  Take care of yourself.  Do I have my own needs that are overflowing into my parenting?  Get support.   Take action.   Question?  Is my grand son  half dirty or half clean?  Does he care.  Should I care?