Coaching practices for Special Time Lawrence Cohen Playful Parenting During a Big Change

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Special Time Lawrence Cohen Playful Parenting During a Big Change, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• I keep meaning to spend real one-on-one time with my kid but it gets squeezed out by everything else, and I think the unpredictability is part of why they keep grabbing at me
• There’s a window every day
• My kid is full of wild physical energy and I tend to shut down the wrestling and chasing because I’m afraid it’ll spin out of control
• Even when I sit down to play with my kid I catch myself steering it
• After a blow-up with my kid we both stay frozen and far apart, and I keep trying to talk it through, to get an apology, while the distance just drags on

Practices that may help

1. Special Time (Lawrence Cohen — Playful Parenting)
   Special time is a structured daily or near-daily practice of ten to twenty minutes of fully child-directed, uninterrupted one-on-one play, drawn from Lawrence Cohen's Playful Parenting framework. It fills the child’s attachment "cup," reduces bids for attention through misbehavior, and builds the relationship reserve that makes limits and teaching more effective. Clinical and observational evidence consistently supports child-directed play as a relationship and behavior intervention.
2. Schedule and protect special time as a non-negotiable
   Put it in the calendar, name it, and keep the appointment.
   Special Time (Lawrence Cohen — Playful Parenting)
3. Use special time to fill the connection cup before problems escalate
   A proactive ten-minute connection recharge can prevent an afternoon of battles.
   Special Time (Lawrence Cohen — Playful Parenting)
4. Engage in safe rough-and-tumble play
   Wrestling, chasing, and physical silliness build the regulation capacity that calm activities cannot.
   Special Time (Lawrence Cohen — Playful Parenting)
5. Follow the child’s lead completely during special time
   Let the child decide what you do, how long you stay, and when you move on.
   Special Time (Lawrence Cohen — Playful Parenting)
6. Use play to re-establish connection after conflict or separation
   Playful physical contact after a difficult moment re-welds the relationship faster than discussion.
   Special Time (Lawrence Cohen — Playful Parenting)
7. Sportscast what you see rather than directing
   Narrate the play without evaluation, question, or instruction.
   Special Time (Lawrence Cohen — Playful Parenting)
8. Say yes to bids for connection before enforcing limits
   A child’s capacity to accept limits depends on how connected they feel to the person setting them.
   Authoritative Parenting (Diana Baumrind)
9. Practice emotion coaching during low-stakes moments
   Build the skill in small moments so it’s available in the big ones.
   Emotion Coaching (John Gottman)
10. Use Plan B: the three-step collaborative conversation
    Empathize with the child’s concern, share yours, and invite them to solve it together.
    Collaborative Problem Solving (Ross Greene)

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