I took my deep breaths. I offered his sensory tools. I tried all of my calming phrases.
Nothing seemed to be working.
I wasn’t on the top of my game. My head was pounding and I needed to eat.
He just kept pushing every button that I had.
Finally, I snapped. I lost my cool, and I yelled at my son.
Of course, that didn’t help the situation at all. He spiraled completely out of control, and I felt like a complete failure. Again.
When this happens to you, I want you to take heart. There is still an opportunity to turn this mess around, with these life-changing steps to reconnect after you yell at your kids.
* This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. Click here for my full disclosure.
If you’re a parent that feels guilty after yelling at your kids, these tips are going to be completely life-changing. You’ll feel better, your kids will feel better, and overall you will have a better parent-child relationship!
Life-Changing Steps to Reconnect After Yelling at Your Kids
1. Explain: When you catch yourself yelling, stop, calm yourself down, and simply explain to your kids why you got upset. Talk to them about how even Mom has triggers that it’s hard for her to control, and that everyone needs help sometimes dealing with big emotions.
2. Apologize: I remember as a kid I hated whenever my parents yelled at me. It made me feel so small, and I definitely don’t want that for my kids. Offering a real and sincere apology will go a long way towards reconnecting after yelling at your kids. Don’t include any excuses here, only an apology. “I’m sorry that I yelled, I will try to do better”.
3. Comfort and Love Them: Sometimes kids can become very frightened and upset when their parents yell at them. Be sure to take the time after yelling to give your kids a hug and just assure them that you still love them more than ever, you just lost your cool for a minute.
4. Spend Time Together: A great way to make it up to your kiddos is to simply spend time together. Go to the park and have fun for the day, or even spend the day in watching their favorite movie cuddled up together on the couch. Parents and kids need five positive interactions to counteract each negative interaction, so do what you can to reset your day!
5. Forgive Yourself: Don’t beat yourself up too much or feel too guilty for yelling at your kids. It happens, we all have our bad days and nobody is perfect. Be sure to forgive yourself and simply work harder to better yourself as a parent so that you don’t have to yell next time.
Yelling is never fun and we all really try our best not to yell. Sometimes life gets out of hand and you have a bad day. In the end, all is forgiven and your kids love you just as much as they did before. With these steps to reconnect after yelling at your kids, they’ll forgive and move on from your yelling session by the end of the day!
With these life-changing tips to reconnect after yelling at your kids, you and your kiddos will have better communication and a better relationship overall.
While reconnecting after you yell is vital, of course we would all love if we didn’t yell in the first place.
We’ve all heard the same advice… If someone tells me to “take a deep breath” one more time, they might get yelled at even more than my kids…
That’s why I was SO excited when my friend Amanda decided to offer this free video series From Angry Mom to Calm Home.
This isn’t the same old advice we’ve all heard that doesn’t work, and it’s not just another parenting expert that will make you feel even more guilty for yelling…
Trust me. Amanda is the real deal. She’s a mental health therapist and an admitted reformed yeller. She totally understands what it’s like to be a mom in the trenches, and her tips are gold.
You can sign up here for the free email series.
For more adventures in parenting, check out:
I really like you’re website. Great combination of personal experience, parenting reflections and advice and activity ideas. Good for you. Can you tell me where you buy the mermaid fabric from, and if it goes by any other name. Cant find any reference to it here in the UK.