Featured: How do you practice patience while parenting and disciplining?

I'm known for hiding in the pantry on stressful days. A minute or two catching my breath in there makes a world of difference. If I'm going to be disciplining I always make sure I've cooled off before using harsh words or immediate punishment. I'll usually send them to their rooms and discipline them after about a half hour.

One question: Why can't kids be less difficult? ;)

I've been doing yoga on and off for about a year and a half and that helps me out SO much. When Quinn starts stressing me out, I put a timer on for 5 minutes and do the child's pose and say a mantra and just kind of breathe for a  minute or 2. She doesn't really understand what Im doing, but she usually stops and looks and sometimes mimicks me and then I get on with what I was doing. I do this quite a bit in the house, lol. When we're outside, I just kind of stop and say a mantra and keep going. Lol.

If I am really angry / upset.  I just say I need a time out and go sit in the bathroom for a bit.  It gives me a chance to calm down before I say something I regret

 a good way to keep your cool while disciplining is to have set consequences and stick to them.  

when you already know what the consequence is going to be it's easier to keep your cool and not respond from a place of aggravation.

Good tips! Thanks!!

Ooooooooh I tell ya. My patience has been pushed to the limits lately. I try to remember that days where I have the least patience are days in which something else is going wrong. So am I really upset that my 2.5 year old is jumping on the couch after I told her not to six times(well, I'm sure that's part of it, haha), or am I upset because I missed a deadline at work and the house is a mess? Probably the latter.  So I guess just trying to keep things in perspective. 

Acutely, I will just step out of the room if I feel frustrated. Usually I have found that taking them outside or to the park is helpful on days they are really pushing it with me. I think a lot times when they seem to be a little more difficult, they're just in need of some running around.

Then I go to the gym and work it all out.