52 Parenting Tools in 52 Weeks

Starting in January I will be venturing into a journey of self-improvement. Specifically...a journey of improving my parenting skills using the Positive Discipline Parenting Tool Cards. I took this journey once before in 2010 and it helped me stay focused on my parenting throughout the year. I learned a lot from that experience and I am excited to put that new knowledge to work this coming year.

One thing I learned is although I will involve my kids in this process, I won't specifically tell them that I am using new parenting tools. I found the first time around that my son used that information as a chance to sabotage my efforts. I think it will be better this time if I just start using the parenting tools and allow them to be pleasantly surprised when our family life becomes more respectful and loving.

The second thing that I learned is that it is helpful to be reading a companion Positive Discipline Book during the journey. Since my children are teenagers, I will be reading Positive Discipline for Teenagers. If I make a commitment to read a little each day from that book, it will help me stay focused and positive.

The third thing I learned is to be persistent. Sometimes it takes time for children to learn new habits. And sometimes when you think they've got it, they revert back to their old ways. This is just a fact and it takes persistence. Positive Discipline is focused on the long-range results. Some of the benefits may not appear until they go off to college on their own. So we need to allow our children to make a few mistakes and learn the skills they will need later in life.

I look forward to sharing my experiences with you and I hope you will share your comments along the way.

Here is the order I will be following throughout the year:

Week 1 - Listen
Week 2 - Encouragement
Week 3 - Connection Before Correction
Week 4 - Family Meetings
Week 5 - Compliments
Week 6 - Routines
Week 7 - Special Time
Week 8 - Take Time for Training
Week 9 - Validate Feelings
Week 10 - Positive Time Out
Week 11 - Jobs
Week 12 - Mistakes
Week 13 - 3 R's of Recovery
Week 14 - Problem Solving
Week 15 - Limit Screen Time
Week 16 - Follow Through
Week 17 - Agreements
Week 18 - Focus On Solutions
Week 19 - Logical Consequences
Week 20 - Natural Consequences
Week 21 - Teach Children What to Do
Week 22 - Put Kids in the Same  Boat
Week 23 - Allowances
Week 24 - Hugs
Week 25 - Wheel of Choice
Week 26 - Act Without Words
Week 27 - Understand the Brain
Week 28 - Back Talk
Week 29 - Winning Cooperation
Week 30 - Distract & Redirect
Week 31 - Decide What You Will Do
Week 32 - Practice
Week 33 - Empower Your Kids
Week 34 - Motivation
Week 35 - Kind and Firm
Week 36 - Pay Attention
Week 37 - Small Steps
Week 38 - Control Your Behavior
Week 39 - Sense of Humor
Week 40 - Silent Signals
Week 41 - Letting Go
Week 42 - Eye to Eye
Week 43 - Closet Listening
Week 44 - One Word
Week 45 - Show Faith
Week 46 - Break the Code
Week 47 - Avoid Pampering
Week 48 - Anger Wheel of Choice
Week 49 - Encouragement vs Praise
Week 50 - Limited Choices
Week 51 - Curiosity Questions
Week 52 - Mirror