Kristen Bell swears by the 'single most important parenting strategy' backed by a psychologist

Often, during the parenting journey, the goal is to do everything right to bring up the child in a healthy environment. However, it is not all that easy, especially when kids often rebel for minor things, show stubbornness, and throw tantrums. How parents respond to the situation decides the profound impact it will have on their child. Becky Kennedy, a parenting coach - who goes on Instagram by drbeckyatgoodinside - shared an excellent tip to handle similar situations where parents and children have heated arguments. The advice is so great that even actress Kristen Bell, a mom herself, swears by this parenting approach.

Becky Kennedy rendered a TED talk on “learning to repair” while parenting and communicating with children. Kristen Bell (kristenanniebell) shared a glimpse of the same in an Instagram post and captioned it: “Dr. Becky has had a profound impact on who I am as a mother. In her new Ted talk, she shares the single most important parenting strategy.” Bell, who parents two daughters - Lincoln and Delta - with her husband Dax Shepard, has often stressed the need to be mindful of parenting approaches. In the video, Kennedy highlights the need to go beyond an apology while confronting children after an argument.

Kennedy said in the video, “There is nothing such as a perfect parent. Mistakes and struggles come with the job, but no one tells us what to do next. I see millions of parents around the globe struggle with this issue. I always say the same thing: Get good at repair.” She then elaborated on the term ‘repair’ and how it applied to the parenting scenario. “A repair is an act of going back to the moment of disconnection, taking responsibility for your behavior and acknowledging the impact it had on another,” she said. Also, she compared the terms apology and repair and mentioned that the former tends to shut a conversation while the latter “opens one up.”

Kennedy then shared three elements to practice repairing the moment or relationship. “Name what happened, take responsibility and state what you would do differently the next time,” she explained. The expert then shared a common example. She said, “Hey, I keep thinking about what happened the other night in the kitchen. I’m sorry I yelled, I’m sure that felt scary. It wasn’t your fault, I’m working on staying calm even when I’m frustrated.“ The speaker added, “A 15-second intervention can have a life-long impact.” However, this was not all.

Kennedy suggested taking things one step further and “doing something impactful” after having reconnected. “I can teach him a skill which he didn’t have in the first place, which is how kids actually change their behavior,” she continued. She further mentioned how this next approach is entirely dependent on the previous one. “That never would have happened if I was busy blaming him for my reaction,” Dr. Kennedy concluded. Responding to Bell’s post, drbeckyatgoodinside commented, “Thank you for helping ensure that more parents feel empowered and hopeful - and fewer children feel alone and scared.”

Bell’s post received quite a reaction. Along with the actress, several fellow mommas were on board with the idea. shipshavesailed said, “Our baby girl is three months old and I’m tucking away nuggets of wisdom like this in preparation for the years ahead.” ubuskills commented, “It helps figure out how to mitigate long-term feelings of disconnection for your kid and allows parents to make amends.”