One of my favorite ways to relax is to do a progressive muscle relaxation. To do a progressive muscle relaxation, you go through each body part, tense it, and then feel the difference as you relax it. So I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to teach kids how to do a progressive muscle relaxation. Here are my thoughts.
Welcome to Little Elf Family Services! I’m Lara Elfstrand. I am a parent coach, and I am here to help parents to feel connected, rested, and thriving. I have a master’s degree in early childhood special education (and a clear teaching credential), and I am endorsed as an infant family advanced transdisciplinary mental health practitioner.
I became a parent in 2007, and it changed me and my life completely. I realized just how much a person changes when they become a parent. It changed my values, my priorities, and my marriage! The things I learned cannot be summarized in one blog post or even in one blog. But here are just a few things that I would start with:
Nesting parties ask us to re-think the way that we celebrate new parents and challenge us to focus on what the expecting parents need. It’s really less of a party and more of an opportunity to provide the family help.
Unlike baby showers, “Nesting parties shift the focus from stuff to support to help families prepare their homes and hearts for life with a new baby,” explains Lara Elfstrand, the pediatric sleep practitioner of Little Elf Family Services.
Did you know that one of the best ways to ensure that your marriage will last is to start TODAY to identify yourself as a couple who learns relationship tools? Don’t wait until there is a problem! Why is this so important?
According to research, the average couple waits 6 years before they seek help in their relationship. Yet half of all marriages that end do so in the first 7 years (https://www.gottman.com/about/research/couples/).
Lack of sleep has such a rollover effect on other areas of our relationships and our parenting. New parents often find that lack of sleep is the most difficult part of parenting. Nerves get frayed and patience gets short with ourselves, our partners, and our children. Especially in the middle of the night we end up saying things that we never thought we would say to each other. But my goal is for your relationships to fill you with happiness and stay that way for the long haul? So what can we do?
Are you curious about the secret signals that could be sabotaging your relationship? Well, get ready to ride the wild emotional rollercoaster known as the Gottman 4 Horsemen! 😱🎢
1️⃣ The Criticizer - "The Roaring Stallion" 🐴 Watch out for this fiery horse! The Criticizer is all about nitpicking every little thing your partner does. From their fashion choices to the way they slurp their soup, nothing is off-limits. It's like they have a Ph.D. in finding faults! 🤷♀️👀
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©Lara Elfstrand, MA ECSE, IF-ATMHP, CPSI - Little Elf Family Services, P.O. Box 5098, Auburn, CA 95604
