Hal graciously had me on his podcast, Achieve Your Goals. We had a great conversation including how Mike and I got our children into The Miracle Morning, Spirit Coach Training, our story behind how we became the co-authors of The Miracle Morning for Parents and Families, name dropping some of the awesome Parenting Profiles in the book (to read Gary Keller's click here), the 3 P's of parenting, the C.H.A.R.M.S. – what they stand for and how to get your kids involved, having Jim Shiels write the forward and the Best Year Ever Blueprint Live Experience. P.S. I apologize for our dogs barking in the background while recording this podcast :)
Since becoming co-authors our family and the Elrod family have gotten to know each other and had the opportunity to hang out VIP style at Legoland California. Here is us together and was the first time I met Ursula. I'm so grateful she allowed me to interview her for the book and for her insights. I'm grateful we have kids around the same age and for the awesome time we had a Legoland together. I'm grateful for Ursula's smile and her positive energy and to be able to count her among my friends.
Parenting Profile—Ursula Elrod
Ursula is a stay-at-home mom with two children, ages 7 and 4. She has been happily married to Hal Elrod, the author of The Miracle Morning, for 7 years.
Parenting philosophy. I want to raise children who don't need to recover from their childhood. Parenting with purpose is making sure you're raising people who don't need therapy and who don’t carry issues into their own parenting down the road.
Sharing the Miracle Morning with the kids. My daughter loves the exercise part because she loves doing yoga, and my son loves doing seven-minute workout with Hal. He asks for it: "Dad, let's do seven-minute workout." It's so great.
Affirmations tip for kids. Some friends of ours showed us the Affirmation Alligator. They made an alligator out of an old shoebox and a tissue box. Every morning, the kids get to reach their hands into the mouth of the alligator and pull out an affirmation for the day.- can be found here.
Best Parenting Tips.
Discipline can be playful: I don't have a traditional out-of-the-house career. My career is my children right now. When I do the Miracle Morning, I become more present and aware of how I need to be. I handle things more playfully, even discipline. One of the books I read says kids can release stress in two ways—crying or laughter. Typically, children will cry because of the parent. The parent loses their temper, and so the children cry. When something gets frustrating, it's either, "Okay, they're going to cry, or they're going to laugh." I try to make my children laugh. I try to ask myself, how can I show them that life isn't that big a deal, and we don't need to get that stressed out about it?
Free yourself from outdated parenting styles. I think we're all guilty of falling into our own parenting habits because of how we were parented. Because of The Miracle Morning, I'm discovering that my own parenting style can be different from the way I was raised. I'm finding ways to become a better parent and not just go through the motions of parenting. There are so many parents I see on Facebook who joke, "Oh, if my kids weren't cute, I'd spank them." It’s sad that we joke about losing patience with our kids when really, we need to be there for our children because they're only little for so long.
It’s okay to let our children struggle. I don't think we're doing any service to our children by sheltering them and taking care of everything. Let them get hurt. Let them struggle a little bit. Like the saying, "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, he became a beautiful butterfly." In order to become that butterfly, he had to struggle. Your kids will feel so much more accomplished, and they'll be willing to try more new things knowing that they can do it.
Celebrate their accomplishments, however small. When children do something, when they achieve something new, be sure to acknowledge it. When my daughter started riding her bike without training wheels, she was so excited. She couldn't wait until Hal came home to show him and tell him all about it. When my son learned how to swim, he could not wait to show Hal. Those accomplishments are so big for them in their young lives that you have to let them feel that joy.
Take care of your marriage. Here's the thing: you're going to love your kids unconditionally, no matter what. Your spouse on the other hand, you’ve got to work at that relationship, especially when kids come along because it becomes stressful. Life becomes hectic with after-school activities and vacations and in-laws and everything.
Great Parenting Resources. One of the books I recommend is Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool by Hal Edward Runkel (click the link to read it free online). I’d also recommend The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman. It’s a guide for how to make them feel loved. Everyone hears the message of love differently whether it's from receiving gifts or words of affirmation, whatever. It helps you to learn that.
Parenting Success Story. We did a hybrid homeschool program with our daughter for kindergarten. This last week has been a little bit stressful. She had to finish all of her schoolwork for kindergarten graduation. My son, being an amazing little brother says, "It's okay, I'll do my homework with you." I got out a preschool book for him to work on. They had the best time laughing and hanging out with each other and doing their homework, kidding and racing. "Who can do their homework faster?" The whole time she was stressed out, he was just there saying, "I'll do it with you."
Final thought. When you really put good in, you get so much good out. It's just amazing to see how strong you can build your family when you take the time and you make the effort to become a better parent.
I'm grateful for the Elrod family and the positivity they bring to the world. I'm grateful that Hal gave us the opportunity to be part of the Miracle Morning Movement as co-authors to help Elevate the Consciousness of Humanity- One Morning at a Time. And I'm grateful for the Achieve Your Goals Podcast and all I've learned as a listener. I'd love to hear from you. Please comment below or join the conversation in our Facebook Community.
In Gratitude,
Lindsay :)