Challenge to be a better parent

One night a friend had pinned a link to a blog post titled, "10 Things I Learned When I Stopped Yelling At My Kids."  I had to look at it right away.  I could relate to a lot of things she said.  I decided I wanted to take the challenge of no yelling.  I told Matt that I want him to take this challenge with me.  He said something really important (to me), he made a comment that it will be easier for him than for me.  Whether it is because I am around The Gs a lot more than he is or the fact that he has a lot calmer personality than I do, either way it is true.  I do yell a lot more than he does, or anyone else in our home.  I want that to change.  I want more peace in my home.  I don't want my children to grow up in a home where yelling is an "acceptable" mode of communication.  So, I am challenging myself to 1 year with no yelling.  It is going to be hard.  I am going to take it one day at a time.  I am going to get frustrated, I am going to want to yell, but I will have to find alternatives to yelling.  On the blog that I linked to above she has alternatives to yelling,  I may need to post some of them around my house.

I have to be made accountable in order to make this work, and that is why I am making it "public" that I am doing this challenge.

On one of the pages she posted something that made me say "Yes, I want that!" And I think I will post it in a few places around the house to help me remember.  She said,

I want to be a mom who has the energy and determination to forge ahead and parent with more composure and warmth and without the yelling!