Anger Management

Between road rage and domestic violence, there is an urgent need to help young people deal with their negative emotions before things get out of control.

Family Resource, a website dedicated to helping families, has great suggestions for learning to let go:

It is almost impossible to be upset when your body is relaxed. Try one of these relaxation skills, even in the middle of a challenging situation:

• Breathe slowly and deeply while imagining that tension is leaving your body with each breath.
• Try to inhale and exhale for the same amount of time (e.g., inhale for a count of four, exhale for four). Imagine that the breath is going in and out of the region of your heart. Meanwhile, recall or think about things that give you an appreciative, grateful, loving feeling. (For more on this simple but powerful technique, check out the books from the HeartMath Institute in Santa Cruz.)
• For a young child, a little trick that will help her breathe deeply is to ask her to exhale fully and then hold the exhalation for a couple of seconds - when she inhales, she'll naturally take a big breath.
• Deliberately relax certain trigger points, such as the jaw muscles, pelvic floor, or the "third eye" between the eyebrows.
• Recall or imagine a very happy, peaceful scene.

You can deepen your capacity to relax when the fur starts flying by practicing relaxation techniques at calmer times, like right before bed:

• Systematically put your attention on each major part of your body, starting with your feet and working up to your head. If it helps, think a phrase like "relax," or "locate a point" for your left foot, right foot, left ankle, right ankle . . . all the way up to your scalp.
• Tense your muscles for about five seconds and then relax completely.
• Imagine that you are v-e-r-y heavy, sinking more and more deeply into your bed
• Imagine that your hands are very warm, like holding a cup of hot cocoa (this one is especially good for insomnia)

For kids, bedtime is a great time to train them in these techniques, since they'll put up with more mumbo-jumbo to keep you in the room. The point is that you will initially take them through some of the methods above, and then over time you will expect them increasingly to use the methods themselves at night -- as well as during the day, in real-life situations.

Momference 2008

New Momference Make-Over Starting in the Spring of 2008, Momference will present events geared toward truly changing and empowering the lives of women everywhere! Events will focus around the areas of: Divorce Special Needs Families Domestic Violence Parenting Teens Child Safety Mompreneurs Visit our new online Momference events calendar to see a complete listing of online tele-conferences and webinars lead by leading experts in the fields of parenting and women's coaching.
Calling all Divorced Women Are you divorced, going through a divorce, or know someone who is getting a divorce? Everyone does! The April 9th and 12th Momference event, sponsored by Laura Campbell of the DSpot, "Divorce: Passion, Power, and Play," is the ideal way to help yourself or someone you love deal with the issues surrounded the break up of a marriage. As the perfect gift of healing for yourself or a way to help a loved one struggling with the pain of divorce, the small registration fee of $39 includes both days of the event, a special virtual goodie bag, and podcasts of all of the sessions to review at your leisure! The keynote speaker of the "Divorce: Passion, Power, and Play" event will be Dr. Pepper Schwartz, the author of Prime: Adventures and Advice about Sex, Love and the Sensual Years. She is a renowned author, lecturer and authority on the subject of sexuality and relationships. Pepper wrote the column “Sex and Health” for Glamour magazine for seven years. She has appeared on such television programs as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dateline and Dr. Phil, and on programs for the cable television network Lifetime. If you have not signed up for the upcoming FREE "Divorce: Passion, Power, and Play" event with Dr. Pepper Schwartz or Linda Ward (or both--they are FREE right??), then do it now before all the spaces are taken!
Addressing Special Needs Did you know...1 in 5 families in the United States have Special Needs children? If you have a special needs child or know someone who does, then you can fully understand the trials and tribulations associated with caring for their needs. In our April 26th "Special Needs: Managing STRESS with a SMILE" event, sponsored by Stephanie Haber of The Special Needs Family, special needs families are given the best tips and tactics finding happiness in the chaos. Whether you join the Momference "Special Needs: Managing STRESS with a SMILE" to bring peace to your own home or provide sanity to a loved one struggling to manage, the small registration fee of $39 includes a full day of tele-classes and webinars, a special virtual goodie bag, and podcasts of all of the sessions to review at your leisure! NOTE: This event qualifies for a special discount for groups of 5 or more! If you have group that would like to register for the "Special Needs: Managing STRESS with a SMILE" event, then please contact marketing@momference.com for details. If you have not signed up for the upcoming FREE Special Needs: Shut Up about your Perfect Kid event with Patty Konjoian, then do it now before all the spaces are taken!
Getting Bloggy with Momference Through connecting moms across the blogosphere in our Momference community and sharing valuable articles with tips from Momference experts, the Momference blog is a gathering place for moms to share their experiences and help each other promote stronger families. Stop by today by leaving a comment on our blog at http://momference.wordpress.com!