Mom and dad had a problem with 3 ½ year old Kiara tattling on dad! They talked behind closed doors about the situation, made a plan and agreed to support each other. At the family meeting, they explained about the mind trust concept (Session 4 of Redirecting Children's Behavior). Whichever parent she has a problem with; she needs to handle it with that parent. Mom said, "If you tattle on Daddy to Mommy, I will say, 'Mind Trust!' and that means you need to work it out with Daddy. Kiara agreed. Shortly thereafter, Kiara came running to mom saying, "Mom! Daddy gave me juice boxes and he was supposed to give me milk!" Mom simply said, "Mind Trust!" Kiara stopped for a moment, ran back to dad and worked it out with him. Later Dad & Kiara were play wrestling and Kiara came running to mom and said, "MOM! Dad pushed me!" Mom said, "Mind Trust! Sounds like you need to work that out with your Dad". Kiara again stopped tattling and went back to dad and told him how she felt, "Dad, I don't like it when you push me so hard." Dad apologized and they got back to playing. Mom reports the blaming and coming between mom and dad has diminished tremendously by having the mind trust agreement in place. Great work Mom & Dad!
Todd & Monique Nowlin, Ventura
