Image: Flickr/Wagner T. Cassimiro “Aranha”

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that we fear less.” (Marie Curie)

Few things in life are as nerve-wracking as when our kids behave badly. We get embarrassed. We fear the worst. We’ve failed as parents! Our children are going to end up crashing and burning! It’s the end of the world as we know it…and we do not feel fine!

But what might happen if you took the time to think about why they’re doing what they’re doing? How might things change if you asked yourself what you may be doing to contribute to the problem? What if you just got really curious?

The curious thing about fear is that it is so easily defeated. Ironically, it is defeated by curiosity. When you take the time to look for the “why” behind the “what”, you are able to show your child what it means to be an adult. When you seek to understand them (before you seek to be understood by them), you teach them how to treat you and others without taking things so personally, without blowing things out of proportion. By taking fear out of the equation, you provide a sense of calm stability that your child desperately needs.