Meg Rodney

[Meg Rodney]

Hi everyone! I just noticed that my intro on here is 6 years old, so I just wanted to do a quick re-introduction. I’m still living in Arizona, USA, with my husband and two boys (and our animals – the birds have changed but the dog and tortoise remain). My boys are now 18 and 14, and I am now about 9 years into my peaceful parenting journey. It is no exaggeration to say that peaceful parenting transformed my relationship with my oldest. I’m happy to report that the teen years were smooth sailing with him. We didn’t experience any of the angst that my friends complain of, and I attribute that to the open, safe communication and connection that peaceful parenting affords.

I’m so happy to continue to be a mentor here on this site and look forward to supporting you all any way that I can.

[Meg Rodney]

@sarahgoatherd – Welcome! I enjoyed reading about your journey and what led you hear to continue your parenting/coaching learning. You are clearly attuned to how your life stress and busyness can affect your children’s behavior and how difficult it is to stay connected when we have so many stressors in our lives. How lovely it must have been to have your girls melt back into their contented selves upon being home with you. I homeschool, too, and it blends so beautifully with peaceful parenting.

There is so much rich and wonderful material here, and Genevieve is such an amazing coach/teacher that I am sure your experience will be rewarding and bring you closer to your goal of supporting other parents in their journeys. Tabitha is enormously helpful and insightful as well. And I am happy to help any way I can as well. We are happy that you are here.

[Meg Rodney]

@lesleyg – oh, yes! Transitions when stressed/hurried are the hardest, aren’t they? So tricky to stay connected or to reconnect when feeling rushed and frazzled. And it is so true that our kiddos pick up on those tensions, and that creates even more tension and stress. I have found that those situations are where having a little mantra can be helpful for kind of ‘emergency centering’ for me (I particularly like Gen’s phrase, “this is tricky, not tragic”).

It sounds like this is all making sense and pieces are falling into place for you at the head level. Putting things into practice is challenging! Over time, it will become second nature, but it takes time. Be sure to remember to be gentle with yourself when you mis-step – those moments can be great opportunities to model kindness to self and forgiveness.

[Meg Rodney]

@lesleyg – I really think that Module 6 will be so helpful with the issues you described with Esme. I think this module will help you shift to a “how can I help Esme cooperate in this moment?” perspective, and I think the ideas about play will really help in both these scenarios you mentioned. Once you finish module 6, I’d love to hear if anything resonates with you.

[Meg Rodney]

@bron23 – I am sorry to hear of you needing a procedure, but I am hoping you are on the mend. So hard to care for ourselves when we are in the habit of putting other needs first, isn’t it?

How lovely that you were able to put the modules into practice with the wee ones. That centered focus certainly seems to have been helpful for the night-time. What beautiful memories were made!

[Meg Rodney]

@katherinet – I’m glad to hear the family meeting breakdown was helpful. We also do daily check-ins at various times of the day. I. Addition to the “what did you do?” questions, I like “what was your favorite part of the day?” and/or “what do you wish would have happened differently?” The latter can really be revealing. My boys, too, look for me to lead (well, my younger son does; my 16 yo is pretty comfortable saying whatever is on his mind and heart). We don’t do more formal family meetings all that often, but I find them helpful when we have decisions to make.

[Meg Rodney]

Welcome, Cassady. I am glad to read that the Covid situation had a silver lining with your increased time with your kiddos and that you learned so much about yourself and your goals. I am in Arizona and am a PT working in early intervention and agree that there is a lack of awareness and knowledge of peaceful parenting techniques. I am fortunate that our early intervention team includes a Psychologist and OT whose coaching strategies tend to align with peaceful parenting (a lot of meeting the need that is leading to a behavior). Hopefully the shift toward peaceful/gentle/compassionate parenting and NVC is happening, and it is encouraging that a professional like yourself is onboard.

[Meg Rodney]

Welcome again, Allie (I replied in the other intro in the training group) 🙂

[Meg Rodney]

Welcome, Katey. I’m happy that you will be here to learn more strategies on compassionate/peaceful parenting as you continue on your own self-healing journey, parenting journey, and professional journey. I also homeschool my boys (18 and 14; well, not the 18 yo anymore, he just graduated!). Homeschooling gives us many unique opportunities to implement these strategies.

[Meg Rodney]

Welcome, Orianna. It is good to have you here. I love reading about your dedication to improving how you relate with Parker. My challenging relationship with my oldest, who I characterized as strong-willed, is what brought me to peaceful parenting when he was about 9 years old. He is now 18, and it is not an exaggeration to say that peaceful parenting and all I learned here with Genevieve, have transformed my relationship with him. So insightful that you realize how important handling your “internal community” is for your parenting journey.

[Meg Rodney]

A belated welcome to you, Marie-Yianna! Your dedication to your children and to helping parents shows in your intro. I hope you are finding the training to be a wonderful supplement to all the learning you have already done. Home/unschooling gives us parents so many opportunities to practice the principles of peaceful parenting, and it is a wonderful journey, isn’t it (my boys are 18 and 14 and have been homeschooled from the get-go)?

[Meg Rodney]

A belated welcome to you, Helen! I hope you are finding the training enriching. I have also homeschooled my kiddos and know that the extra time together does allow for unique challenges, though I love it more than I ever knew I would. So wonderful that you seek to help parents who have similar challenges with triggers and temper. I am confident that the training will support you in that goal.

[Meg Rodney]

A belated welcome to you, Katy! I hope you are enjoying the training thus far. I’m confident that the knowledge you gain will be a great addition to your toolkit within your Life and Parent Coaching Practice.

[Meg Rodney]

@bron23 – So good that you were able to seek and get the support you needed when those triggers popped up for you. I’m glad that you took the time to get that support and work through those feelings to get your needs met before tackling the modules. And, yes, understanding and accepting and forgiving oneself truly is freeing! Thank you for sharing.

[Meg Rodney]

@nicola – I hear you on how daunting it can be to think about incorporating fun and joy, especially when coming from a more serious home yet having rambunctious kiddos. One of the things that I learned from my father-in-law is that a lot of fun and joy can be brought in through words and quiet play. He is not a rough-and-tumble kind of grandpa, but kids LOVE him and want to play with him. He plays all sorts of things – from card games to board games to hiding a little alien and having the kids find it (they get their energy out running around trying to locate it) to creating towns out of cardboard boxes, etc. He is always respectful and has treated the kids as equals and playmates since they could walk, and the grandkids get so much joy when they are with him.

Personally, I am not rough-and-tumble either, and I don’t particularly enjoy that kind of play; so, I tend to get those connecting giggles with my boys through banter. My youngest especially loves playful banter. I let my boys get their rough-and-tumble needs met through each other, and they get connecting joy in other ways from me.

[Author]

Posts