I’ve been hearing a lot about “cycle breaking” in my various personal growth circles.
As in, we’re interrupting patterns of disconnection handed down to us as kids, so that our little ones can grow up healthier.
We’re not yelling (as much), even though we might’ve been yelled at. We’re teaching the communication skills we only learned in adulthood. Etc.
Do you resonate with this idea of breaking cycles?
Take something simple like developing feeling fluency. What a difference it would’ve made - for most of us - if someone (anyone!!) would’ve taught us about feelings when we were young:
-Naming the different feelings (beyond happy, sad, mad)...
-Making guesses about our feelings, quietly or out loud…
-Having someone attuning to our feelings during stressors (slowing down, honing in, and responding to our vibe as well as our needs)…
Well - so many of you ARE part of the cycle breaking.
Claire, Christine and I are committed to supporting parents and those who work with little humans - at home, at church, or at school.
And we’re hard at work with our own kiddos, too. Attuning (when we can). Offering empathy (when we can). And starting to teach about feelings and needs (when it’s possible)…
Here’s Claire showing a glimpse of what this looked like at her house over four years:
Isn’t it so sweet to see the engagement Claire’s daughter has with feelings fluency? And she’s still so young - amazing.
I know many of you are working with your kids in similar ways. Email us with YOUR pics and videos. We’d love to feature what you’re up to.