We are all inevitably going to yell at our kids, but it’s not about yelling, it’s about the repairing. If you feel guilty for yelling at your kids, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent. In fact, it means you’re a loving parent.

Now how do we handle the repair? Let’s say your child‘s not listening and you’re constantly yelling at them saying “why aren’t you getting your backpack? ….I’ve asked you 100 times to get your backpack… get your homework…. let’s get out the door we need to leave.” From there it starts to escalate even more.

This is when you calm down, you’re going to take a step back and apologize to them and own your mistake and it’s actually good for your kids to see that; A) you make mistakes and B) you apologize for them. It goes beyond the apology, so you’re going to say to your child, “I’m really sorry for yelling, I actually don’t like yelling and I’m not mad at you. In fact, I am mad at myself for not giving myself enough time to get us out of the house.” Even if you did feel like you gave yourself enough time, you can say, “I’m mad at myself for not being able to calm down because I have to be calm in order to teach you.” It’s not about punishing them, it’s about teaching. The root word of discipline is actually to teach and we have to help teach our kids.