Find help here\u2192<\/a><\/p>\nThe Part No One Talks About: Repair<\/p>\n
I work hard to make my child feel loved.<\/p>\n
But there are still moments where my tone is off or I\u2019m short, and she feels it.<\/p>\n
She might cry. She might pout. She might need space.<\/p>\n
And then we repair.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the part that matters most.<\/p>\n
Over time, she\u2019s learning that relationships can bend without breaking. We can mess up, talk about it, and come back together.<\/p>\n
One Helpful Strategy to Try<\/p>\n
Regulate yourself first.<\/p>\n
It sounds simple. It\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
When your child is melting down, your instinct is to jump in, fix it, and end the discomfort.<\/p>\n
Sometimes the best thing you can do is pause and calm yourself first.<\/p>\n
Our brains naturally mirror the emotions of the people around us. When we escalate, they escalate.<\/p>\n
When we slow down, breathe, soften our tone, and release the tension, something can shift.<\/p>\n
They start to meet us there.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t work every time, but it can make a noticeable difference.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t Miss the Good Moments<\/p>\n
When things are going well, it\u2019s easy to move on to the next task.<\/p>\n
But those are the moments that matter most.<\/p>\n
Even 10 minutes of fully present, silly, engaged play can fill your child\u2019s cup \u2014 and yours.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need hours. You just need to be there.<\/p>\n
![\"Mom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/345cb818-60d0-4247-b90c-495fcf8c902d.png\")
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Diversify Lens | Canva<\/p>\n
Find the Balance<\/p>\n
Parenting is full of ups and downs.<\/p>\n
Some days you\u2019re fully \u201con.\u201d
Some days you\u2019re doing the bare minimum.<\/p>\n
Both count.<\/p>\n
Give yourself credit for the good.
Give yourself grace for the hard.<\/p>\n
Because your child isn\u2019t learning from your perfection.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re learning from how you show up, how you repair, and how you treat yourself when things don\u2019t go as planned.<\/p>\n
And that might be the most important lesson of all.<\/p>\n
Looking for support here in Erie?<\/p>\n
Project LAUNCH offers free tools and resources for families in Erie County, with a focus on early childhood development and mental wellness.<\/p>\n
Learn more about Project LAUNCH \u2192<\/a><\/p>\nAbout the Author: Vanessa Bonatto, LCSW, is a Mental Health Systems Specialist with the Achievement Center of LECOM Health \u2014 and a mom who\u2019s learning right alongside the families she supports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If today felt hard, you\u2019re not alone\u2014and you\u2019re doing better than you think By Vanessa Bonatto, LCSW \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185307,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[1955,734,1961,136,138,137,1756,1957,1507,1953,1962,1958,1956,726,1959,1960,289,1954],"class_list":["post-185306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-calendar","tag-children","tag-clifton-montclair","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news","tag-events","tag-families","tag-family-fun","tag-kids-activities","tag-nj","tag-parks","tag-resource-guides","tag-sports","tag-summer-camps","tag-theatre-camps","tag-things-to-do","tag-weekly-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Mom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1e9a73c2-c25a-4aa1-b8b1-44caac7013cb.png\")
Jaspe | Canva<\/p>\n