Coaching practices for The 10 10 10 Rule as a Parent

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

  • This whole thing will be over and done within a day, so asking how I’ll feel in ten years is absurd
  • I lay down a rule and my kids ignore it because it’s "my" rule they had no say in
  • Under all this pressure to please people and react, I’m about to make a call that I already sense doesn’t square with who I actually want to be
  • I say "the answer is no," they push, and after the tenth round of whining I either blow up or just cave to make it stop
  • I catch myself falling back on "because I said so" because in the moment I’m too worn out to explain, and then my kid just tests the same rule again the next day like it never really meant anything to them.

Practices that may help

  1. The 10-10-10 Rule
    Suzy Welch's 10-10-10 rule asks you to evaluate a decision through three time horizons: how will I feel about this in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years? It is a heuristic for countering short-term emotional reactions by making long-run consequences more cognitively vivid. Evidence for the technique specifically is limited, but it draws on well-supported research on temporal discounting and affective forecasting.
  2. Calibrate the time horizons to the actual decision
    10-10-10 is a template — adjust the horizons to the real timescale of the choice.
    The 10-10-10 Rule
  3. Use family meetings to solve problems together
    When children help solve the problem, they own the solution — and solutions they own, they actually follow.
    Positive Discipline (Jane Nelsen)
  4. Use the 10-year view to check values alignment
    Ask: is the 10-year version of this choice consistent with what I actually care about?
    The 10-10-10 Rule
  5. Hold limits calmly and consistently
    A limit only works if you follow through; an enforced limit with warmth is more effective than a threatened limit delivered with anger.
    Authoritative Parenting (Diana Baumrind)
  6. Explain the reason behind rules
    Children who understand why a rule exists are more likely to internalize it — and more likely to generalize it to new situations.
    Authoritative Parenting (Diana Baumrind)
  7. 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)
  8. Give clear, calm, single instructions
    One specific direction at a time, calmly stated once, is more effective than repeated commands.
    Triple P Parenting (Matthew Sanders)
  9. 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)
  10. Spend quality one-on-one time with your child
    Fifteen minutes of child-led, uninterrupted attention per day builds the relationship that discipline depends on.
    Triple P Parenting (Matthew Sanders)

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