Mom Shares Simple Hair Tie Hack for Positive Parenting

Mom and author Kelly Holmes has three children, and shared on her blog, The Reformed Idealist Mom, that she often found herself speaking sharply to her middle daughter. So, she decided to do something about it.

"Something about the preschooler-ness of my preschooler was turning me into an angry mother every time I opened my mouth to talk to her," Holmes wrote. "I needed help."

Whenever Holmes was with her children, she wrote that she would put five hair ties, or bracelets or another visual reminder, on one wrist. If she talked sharply to her children, she would put one hair tie on the other wrist, and could only move it back by performing five positive interactions with her kids.

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Her goal was to have all five hair ties on the original wrist at the end of the day, and Holmes shares the habit has made a world of difference in the way she interacts with her children.

"As it turned out, the visual cue of the hair ties coupled with the gentle pressure on my wrist was a magical combination," Holmes wrote."

"I thought all this was a fluke, that it would wear off over time, and I'd revert to being an angry mother with my middle kid," she added. "Months later, the hair tie trick is still working wonders. I talk to my preschooler with love and kindness in my voice instead of annoyance and frustration."

Holmes also noted that her preschooler's behavior has changed for the better as well.

"Because I speak to her with more respect, she speaks to me with more respect," she explained. "Because she feels more loved, she's capable of giving more love."

Photo Credit: Twitter / @MummyPages

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