"My parents are hyper," Jason emphasized as he pointed at his dad's foot tapping on my office carpet. "See? They can't sit still. It's always ‘Do this' or ‘Do that' or ‘Come on, get in the car, it's time to go' wherever the heck they want to go. They need to chill!" He paused to see their reaction.
After a silence, his mom said, "Jason's right. I agree. We're always on the go. I thought kids liked activity. We don't want them to be bored."
"I'm at a loss," admitted his dad. "Which do they want? Nice things, sports and activities, or less? I'm working hard to pay for this stuff, and I want to know." He looked at his son, then glanced at his wristwatch.
I spoke up. "Every child needs a mom and a dad who are approachable and available, not at all times, but at some time during the day. He needs a parent who listens to his concerns and shows interest in his ideas. A child needs a parent who will take time and doesn't have to swap information in a hurry. He needs parents who are slow to anger and who seldom overreact. Am I on course, Jason?"
"Yeah. There's so much drama in our house. A lot of overreacting. I do it too."
His mom smiled at his confession. "So what should we do?"
"That's all the time we have for today -- that'll be a hundred dollars," I announced. (Not really, just trying to see if you're paying attention.) Actually, I said, "Let me introduce you to an acronym that will help you experience calm and connection. Jason already used the word chill." I wrote CHILL on my whiteboard. "C stands for Consistent. If we're going to have the kind of secure home that breeds connecting, it needs to be consistent. Inconsistency leads to tension and drama."
"That's us." She let out a deep sigh.
"H is for Halt, which means we will halt our activities in order to connect. It might mean physically stopping whatever we're doing to really tune in to each other. Put the newspaper down, mute the ball game, take off the headphones, whatever. It shows the other persons that they have value and that we respect them."
"There's a lack of respect in our home," said the dad, obviously directing it toward Jason.
"The I is the third quality to CHILL; it reminds us to stay Informed of our child's developmental issues, needs, and desires, and to be informed of his capabilities and circumstances. If we are informed, we'll have reasonable expectations for him."
Jason nodded his head in agreement.
"The first L is Listen. Listen to Jason without interrupting, correcting, or lecturing. The goal isn't to revise his words when he says something wacky. You aren't listening to sharpen his grammar or behavior; you're listening to connect. Remember: listening means connect, not correct."
