Touch, tender tones and time with your child help to create the emotion bond of trust that empowers your words to impact your child's thoughts and behaviors. Use the whole package together for best results.

Change is created by courage and courage is developed through encouragement. Give some away to your child today!

Parenting is a challenging and time-consuming privilege. It often demands the best from us when we are feeling the most run-down and tired. That's when our tone of voice begins to be filled with exasperation and shortness. That's when our touch becomes more hurried, brisk and tense and our focused time becomes more about the tasks at hand before the day is done than with our child close to us. How do we, as parents, continue to share tender words and touches even when time seems so short and is filled with so many other demands?
Here are a few easy to use hints:

• Remember to breath - especially out - it will clear your brain of cobwebs and clutter and help you focus.
• Write a list of what has to get done.
• Delegate where and when you can.
• Prioritize so that the important happens as well as the urgent.
• Speak confidently and calmly - even if the action has to happen quickly - and your child will cooperate more readily.

Remember that gentle tones, eye contact, even if your words are hurried, will help your kids hear what you are saying and respond. When tones and touch are harsh and stern the kid's emotional reaction will rule over their behavioral action and they will respond in fear or apprehension instead of cooperation. So, take a breath, gather your thoughts and your emotions and enjoy parenting to it's fullest!