Yesterday, I was encouraged by this mother's humility to apologize to her son. Because kids watch what we do, more than what we say. But you already know that. So this is just a reminder to be the good example you want them to follow 😊

Tell me if this sounds familiar... A mother tells her son, "go pack your backpack" In her mind, that means: -Notebook inside -Lunchbox inside -Water bottle inside -Etc... But her son doesn't see the same picture in his head. So he puts his notebook inside the backpack, then wanders off to play again. A few minutes later, she sees the lunchbox and water bottle still sitting on the counter. She says, "I thought I told you to pack your backpack." He says, "I did" Now they're both standing there confused. Can you relate to this scene? I've noticed some parents lose patience in moments like this...thinking that kids are being lazy, disrespectful, or just not listening. But sometimes the real issue is that kids don't have the same expectations as their parents. I call this Finish Line Fog™. Finish Line Fog is when "done" looks obvious to the parent, but the idea of "done" is still not clear to the child. Kids can't consistently hit a target they don't clearly see. So here's one practice you can try today. Before your child starts a task, ask them: “What will it look like when this task is done?” Then help them name two or three visible signs. For example: “The toys are inside the basket.” “The books are back on the shelf.” “The floor is clear enough to walk across.” This practice gives you both the same clear picture and makes the finish-line look less foggy. --- Think about one responsibility in your home... Can your child clearly show you what done looks like, or does the complete picture still live inside your head? If you've ever been confused about why kids don't do what you asked them, then the root cause might be Finish Line Fog™ But that's only 1 of 4 patterns I've seen, that keeps parents confused and in an endless cycle of reminders. So I've created a tool to help you uncover these hidden patterns before they get worse as your child grows and responsibilities get bigger. It's called The Responsibility Readiness Check. It's a 9 question assessment that takes about 3 minutes.

Grayson was hypnotized by his favorite show. Suddenly, Mrs. Gray walks in and says, "cut the TV off. It's time to eat" She expected him to move immediately, especially since she made his favorite lasagna 😋 But he doesn't move immediately, so she tells him again "cut the TV off. I said it's time for dinner" The show is about to end in 5 minutes. So he stands up, but still lingers, trying to catch the last little bit. At first, Mrs. Gray thought he would come running to the kitchen with a big smile on his face. But when he didn't...she started feeling some type of way. A few minutes later, they both ended up frustrated as she returned demanding that he cut the TV off NOW! Can you relate to this scene? I've noticed that moments like these usually stem from expectations not being known ahead of time. I call this a Cue Gap™ The Cue Gap usually shows up during sudden transitions. So here's one practice to try: Set the expectation before the transition time. Timers can be good, but try building transitions around a rhythm your child already knows. Play time Work time Alone time Dinner time Whenever possible, let daily activities follow a predictable sequence. Of course some days will be different, but try to make most days the same. The important thing is that everybody knows what to expect and when to expect it. One predictable transition. One predictable expectation. Think about a transition that causes repeated reminders in your home. Does your child know what's expected ahead of time? Or does the transition start when you announce it? If you've ever been frustrated with reminding your child over and over again...the root cause might be a Cue Gap™ But that's only 1 of 4 patterns I've seen, that keeps parents stuck in an endless cycle of reminder loops. So I created a tool to help you uncover these hidden patterns before they get worse as your child grows. It's called The Responsibility Readiness Check. It's a 9 question assessment that takes about 3 minutes.