Patience is defined as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset”.

Wow that’s a task. Exercising patience with your kids is definitely a workout. I can relate to each of these scenarios.

DELAY – At least one of my kids is on a delay. Every time we have to go somewhere I am waiting on one or both of them. It’s so bad that we are leaving later and later for school every morning. I don’t know what is going on and why they move so slow. I know I exercise patience because I can fight the urge to yell and scream at them. I had a co-worker tell me years ago how you interact with your children in the morning sets the tone for their entire day. So, if I yell and scream at them in the morning they are more likely to have a bad day. The yelling takes the opportunity away from them to have a good day. I remember this most mornings and reframe from yelling. I just sit annoyed and mad. Other scenarios I do get bothered, but I hold back. I’m starting to believe they are just the type of people who are late for everything.

TROUBLE – I really don’t like conflict so I say as far away as possible. I tend to let things go rather quickly, so at the first site of trouble I redirect. When there is trouble brewing between the boys, I try to cut it off before it grows. Sometimes that’s not possible because they can go from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye. I try to let them work it out before stepping in. But when I do I try to address them calmly. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always easy. I have needed to yell on occasion to get their attention. Because I don’t do it regularly, it does make them stop.

SUFFERING – I definitely suffer in silence on many occasions. This all goes back to not liking conflict. I usually let things slide and fester. Not really a good idea, but it keeps the conflicts and confusion down. My oldest son really loves to sing, and he does it constantly. Most of the time I don’t want to hear it, but I don’t say anything. I want him to be himself and express himself.

Overall, I think it’s a good idea to be patient. Because if you are impatient and expressive you are only raising your blood pressure with your reaction. Staying calm and being patient has a positive effect on your health. Also, you don’t want to stress your kids by yelling and screaming at them all the time. This will only have them believing they are always screwing up and not good enough. This is not what we want to teach our kids. So be a little more patient and talk things out calmly and see if you experience a change in behavior.