The first examples overgeneralized and focused on the negative part of parenting. It is easy to focus on the problems. Finding solutions and positive reframes of the parenting job is much harder. To help, parents can make a self-talk plan. A self-talk plan empowers parents to look at the positive aspects of parenting or view it in a new light.
Parents can identify several situations which usually produce negative or distressing feelings.
Next, parents can identify their automatic thoughts and feelings about those situations by listening to what they say to themselves. And finally, parents can create more positive ways of talking to themselves about those situations. Every time a parent starts to feel those negative emotions bubbling up, they must stop immediately and evaluate what they were just saying to themselves before the emotions started. Most of the time this will be the self-talk that needs changing. Emotions will pass as quickly as they come.