Got grumpy kids?

Hello, Happy Humans!

We're here with our weekly 3 things...

1️⃣ A question from our community

2️⃣ Our actionable tips

3️⃣ A resource from our toolkit

1. The question

“My 9-year-old wakes up grumpy, A LOT, and gets upset over small things. All I want is for her to be happy. What can I do to help her?”

2. Our actionable tips

 As parents, we want our kids to be happy, right? 

HOWEVER… we can’t control how they show up each day. 

So, what CAN we control?

One thing is how WE show up to support them, especially in the mornings when the “grumpies” tend to peak.

That’s why we started including a morning check-in with each of our four kids. 

We’ll climb into bed with them (even if just for a minute or two) and cuddle up. After some back rubs, we ask them how they’re feeling.

This helps us gauge their emotional temperature at that moment and informs the amount of support that they may need as they start their day. 

No matter what they share, we try our best to validate their feelings. We’ll say things like…

“It’s okay to feel grumpy right now. I do too most mornings.” 

This simple, yet powerful acknowledgment reassures them that their feelings are normal and accepted.

And then the BIG tip…

Try to increase your support based on your kids’ skills (or an inability to access those skills).

As their skills go down, our support should go up. Sometimes, this means offering a LOT more calm, kind, and compassionate support than you're likely used to.

It’s okay, you aren’t fostering entitlement. 

You’re modeling what it looks like to be a supportive helper that steps in as needs increase.

Over time, they’ll develop the skills they need to self-regulate, and as a result, the need for your support will go down. 

In the meantime, let’s just do our best to be there for them. ❤️

3. From our toolkit

Are you interested in learning how quality sleep can help you care for your nervous system and show up as a more regulated (and less irritable) person? 

In our ‘57+ Ways to Chill the Eff Out’ workshop, we take a deep dive into the importance of sleep and what you can do to increase both sleep quantity and quality (for both you AND your kids).

As of right now, the only way to access our ‘Chill’ workshop is by being a member of The Happy Human Collective, our education and support community.

Not a member yet? You can join us FREE for 7 days to explore ALL of our self-paced workshops, biweekly webinars, downloadable PDF resources, and more!

You can use this link to learn more about joining us in The Collective.

We’d also love to share our favorite tools for sleep with you, so please use this link to browse our Amazon storefront.

Thanks for being here!

❤️ Jenilee & Greg

*We personally use and love all of the products and resources we suggest. If you decide to check out any of the affiliate links we share, just know that we may get a small commission.