"She froze on the edge of yelling, then stopped herself. If it had been one of her child's friends, she realized, she wouldn't have been angry at all. "So instead of overreacting, I just said, 'It's OK. Let's clean it up together,' Canineu tells TODAY.com. 'That moment honestly changed everything for me and for her.' But, Canineu, adds, she still sets limits when it matters, enforcing chores, rules and respect."
"Ever since, she's tried to bring that same 'guest mindset' to the small annoyances that once got under her skin. The approach works, she says, because it helps her stay calm and keep perspective. By treating her children with the same patience she'd extend to a visitor, she prevents small frustrations - like a tipped cup of yogurt - from spiraling into conflict."
A mother of three remembered feeling a surge of irritation when her six-year-old spilled yogurt and stopped herself from yelling, choosing instead to clean up together. She adopted a 'Guest Test' mindset, imagining how she would treat a visitor and applying that patience to everyday mishaps. The approach helps maintain calm, perspective and prevents small frustrations from escalating into conflict while still allowing firm enforcement of chores, rules and respect when necessary. After sharing the idea on Instagram, the concept went viral and prompted reactions about parental anger, exhaustion and childhood trauma, with commenters noting emotional impacts of past yelling.
Read at TODAY.com
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