Connection

• Kids know when you are present and when you are thinking about something else.
• Children and relationships are resilient, and reparable, but the more broken the relationship, the more must be poured into it, for longer, to reclaim what's been lost. And it must be poured in almost exclusively by the adult/parent.
• Preserving dignity is a worthwhile goal toward preserving connection. There is never a need to point out when a child is wrong. They know already.
• When children act the least lovable is precisely when they need love the most.
• It is OK to be your child's friend. It is better to get them to listen to you because they respect and trust what you say, and not because you are an authority that they must obey.
• The best thing you can do when your child is being a huge pain in the ass is to say, "Come here and give me a hug. I love you." It might be what they really need