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Dear Parent,
Sometimes the smallest of words can have the
largest of impacts. Parents often report to us that they
feel out of control. How differently would they
feel
about themselves and their ability to parent if they
instead felt under control? This week, Hal
Runkel, author of ScreamFree Parenting,
reminds us that our emotions are not at the mercy of
those around us; instead, we have all the control we
need.
Have you seen the new ScreamFree
Website?
Fritz Miller and Teresa Meyer, our
ScreamFree Web design team, have been
frantically at work retooling and
reconfiguring the website to get ready for
the big release of the hardcover book this
fall. We've redesigned the navigation, and
added more free
stuff, valuable articles,
videos,
and more. Take a look
and give us your
feedback. (reply to this message, or visit
our contact
form here) And by all means, tell a friend!
| Out of Control |
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By Hal Runkel
Well, I hope your Father's Day was as enjoyable as
mine. Even though I preach that every day is Father's Day
(and Mother's Day), I thoroughly enjoyed being
spoiled by my family. I sat in my recliner and watched
the US Open all day long.
Watching sports of any kind
has always been one of my favorite pastimes. It is the
only true reality show there is, where no one is sure of
the outcome until the contest is over. Even though last
week's NBA finals wasn't much of a nail-biter, I still
enjoyed what little drama it provided.
While watching one of the best ever, Tim Duncan,
claim his place in history, I was struck by something
about him: his control. He is in superb control of his
body to be sure, but he is also in excellent control of
his emotions. He is calm and composed even in the
face of intense pressure, which unfortunately can't be
said for many professional players. Example? Bonzi
Wells, a guard for the Houston Rockets, was once
fined for making an obscene gesture --- at a fan.
When
questioned later about the incident, he responded,
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| Ask Hal: Pushed Past My Point |
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In this section of our newsletter, we usually have
Hal answer
a direct question asked by one of you, but today's
entry was actually addressed to
Jenny. Read on to see how a committed mom of
triplets wants a
new set of tools to help raise her kids so she doesn't
have to rely on screaming.
Dear Jenny,
I really enjoyed the "I'm sorry, Butt" article in the
newsletter a couple of weeks ago. I soooooo do that
to my girls without even realizing it!
I am very big on resources and I try to read everything I
can. I am very fortunate that my husband and I usually
agree on parenting but we both struggle with
screaming.
My daughter really pushed me the other day until I
screamed at her to go to her room. After I cooled
down, and armed with my new knowledge from the
article, I went upstairs and we sat on her bed and
talked about it. I gave her a heartfelt "I'm sorry" (no
butt). She said, "Mom it really scares me when you
scream."
But I don't know what else to do. I try setting
consequences, but it seems as though the pull of the
bad behavior overshadows any fear of consequences
for the moment. When it is time to administer the
punishment (i.e.: going to bed early, no Barbies,
chores, etc) then there is a colossal melt-down.
I guess my question is: What do you and Hal do
when
you get "pushed past the point?" We both scream
when we are frustrated. I hated it when my Mom
screamed, which was all the time and I want better for
my own children. We are both really trying to be the
best parents we can be. Any help you can give me
would be greatly appreciated.
Click here to see Jenny's response
to this frustrated mom
Want to read all of Hal's past "Ask Hal"
replies? Check
out the Ask
Hal Archives Page for the ScreamFree
approach to your common parenting and
relationship issues.
Do you have a Parenting question for Hal,
the author
and creator of ScreamFree Parenting? Email Us
Directly at AskHal@ScreamFree.com. We will
answer a limited number of questions in upcoming
newsletters.
Unfortunately, we cannot respond to all
questions. If you want further feedback on your
individual situation, we encourage you to
explore Relationship
Coaching with
Hal. You can get a
f!ree 20
minute evaluation of your situation to
determine if
coaching is right for you by contacting
us here.
You can also share your questions or
parenting issues in the ScreamFree
Parenting Forum.
Here you can interact with other parents on the
ScreamFree Journey and share your questions and
successes. Visit
the ScreamFree Parenting Forum today
and discuss parenting issues with parents all
over the
country.
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| We Must be in the Front Row! |
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Just this week, we learned that Borders will be
displaying ScreamFree Parenting on the front
table of
each of their 505 stores for the entire month of
September!
In addition, it looks very likely that Barnes & Noble will
match that, by placing us on the New Release front
table and featuring a 20% discount at each of their
686 stores nationwide.
Lastly, Amazon.com is giving us their top level of
promotion, including maximum discount, Parenting
Home Page splashes, mailings to customers that
have purchased parenting books, and a custom video
from Hal direct to the consumer.
However, you don't have to wait until September to buy
the book! Click here to
order your pre-release copy now!
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Exciting New Steps Toward Calming the World! |
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eHarmony.com and ScreamFree Join Forces!
We are thrilled to announce that ScreamFree has
formed a partnership with eHarmony.com to be the
premiere content provider for their new eHarmony
Parenting website.
eHarmony, the leading online
relationship site, responsible for 1% of all marriages
in the US today, launched a Marriage site at the
request of their users last year. From that same
feedback, they are now launching a parenting site for
their hundreds of thousands of paid subscribers. After
extensive research, they have chosen us as THE
partner of choice to help their parents.
The deal calls for hundreds of articles, questions and
podcasts a year to be provided by ScreamFree and
made available to all eHarmony customers. In
exchange, eHarmony will be heavily promoting the
launch of ScreamFree Parenting this September with
millions of advertising impressions.
We expect this
deal to be a tremendous win-win and result in
thousands of books sold. Their new site is planned to
launch on July 11th. Mark your calendars and stop by
eHarmony.com on that date to see the marriage for
yourself!
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