This post could be considered a miracle! It is so difficult to find the time to get anything up here these days! Computer time has always been reserved for the wee hours of the morning before the kids wake up, or in the evening after they’ve gone to bed. But more and more so lately, the kids are up at the crack of dawn; and my evenings for the last several weeks have been intensively focused on reading and studying NVC together with my husband. That is, once the kids have gone to bed. Which, when that happens before 9 pm, is a whole miracle in itself.
I really enjoyed the enthusiastic response I received from many of you after sharing a few posts about NVC. I now feel encouraged to share about this even further here, because I am happy to know that others might receive benefit from hearing about my family’s experience with it. I believe strongly in the power of empathy, in compassion, in the potential that these have to create authentic connections with ourselves and with others. What I would really like to do in future, is to share some tangible examples of interactions I’ve had with my children using NVC. I find it so helpful myself, when studying NVC, to hear the words that others have used, and specific scenarios in other families in which NVC was applied. I’d love to know if this is something that others find helpful or inspiring as well.
For now, before my time is up, I wanted to share some resources that I’ve found encouraging and helpful:
Books
We’ve begun reading Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves this week, and it has brought to light yet another level of awareness in parenting for us. I think the NVC philosophy and the ideas shared by Naomi Aldort compliment each other really well. It’s all about non-violence and raising whole people. The timing in finding this book seems perfect.
Parenting from Your Heart Inbal Kashtan
Punished by Rewards Alfie Kohn
Raising Children Compassionately Dr. Marshall B. Rosenberg
Connection Parenting Pam Leo
Video clips online:
You Listen Tooooooooooo fast Rick Goodfriend (11 minutes)
Hear the Needs (28 minutes)a documentary of the use of NonViolent Communication SM at Euclid HS, Ohio, in a history class with a teacher practicing NVC accompanied by a NonViolent Communication Certified Trainer.
If you like, you can search Non-Violent Communication on Youtube and browse through. Lots of good stuff there.
That’s it for now. Next up: a birthday girl and garden booty!
Thank you so much for sharing all these wonderful resources. As I move closer and closer from being pregnant to becoming a mama all these books sound facinating to me.
hope you are well….
Comment by vanessa — June 24, 2008 @ 9:29 am
Awesome! I was really hoping you would put more posts up about your experiences and studies with NVC. Thanks!
Comment by Emme — June 24, 2008 @ 10:06 am
Thanks for sharing this! I’ll go and check out those link!
Comment by Jade — June 24, 2008 @ 10:45 am
Krista – Festi/Neurotic Chic here (I sent you the Baby Bjorn?). I always read – haven’t stopped. LOL
Anyway, I have loved your posts about NVC – they sound very, very much like what the play therapist my 7 year old sees advocates. She hasn’t called it that to us, but it goes along perfectly with all that she has taught us and what she does with him during their sessions.
It was really, really hard to adapt to – it is so hard to break old habits and ways of responding. I still have a really, really hard time pulling back and trying to remember not to react and try to “fix”, but to reflect back what my boys are saying and so on. To help them find their own solutions from within with a little help.
I forget often, but when I do remember the results are always so much “better”.
I appreciate you sharing the books – now I will have some resources beyond our wonderful play therapist. :)
Comment by Neurotic Chic — June 24, 2008 @ 12:28 pm
Thanks for sharing this, I’m going to look into some of those books. I love hearing your examples of nvc, it’s very very helpful to me. Thanks.
Comment by Heather — June 25, 2008 @ 1:47 pm