Letting Go of Your Teenager Starts in Infancy

<strong><u>Show Notes</u></strong>: <p>Letting go in infancy involves developing a reciprocal interaction where you honor their needs and allow the leadership to change. This connect-disconnect pattern will persist throughout childhood.</p> <p>Kids and teens need a safe home base, i.e. nurturing parents,  they can come back to for comfort, encouragement, and grounding.</p> <p>Letting go is a life-long process: Dr. Jordan points out many opportunities we have during childhood to turn things over to our children such as: sleeping thru the night, handling their own fears and other emotions, advocating for themselves, solving their own problems and conflicts, giving more say-so and decision-making, handling their mistakes and failures, only giving advice if asked or given permission, giving them free will to fail so they can choose to succeed and own the successes, give them the responsibility to know what’s best for them, and getting out of their way so they can forge their own path and story.</p> <p>Dr. Jordan describes the importance of kids finding safe bases, i.e. mentors, to encourage, guide, and inspire them.</p> <p><u>Summary</u>: letting go starts in infancy & continues at each stage of development. Seeing letting go as a life-long process makes it easier at age 18 when they  launch into the world.</p> <p> </p>