How to parent smarter instead of harder

Right before opening the first Disneyland Theme Park, Disney ran out of money. The park opening was scheduled, and the media was invited...but the company didn't even have enough money to clean up the gardens and remove the ugly weeds growing around the park.

But Walt Disney was not someone to give up.

So, just before opening the park, he made little signs with exotic, Latin-sounding names, and placed them next to the weeds to make them seem interesting, instead of ugly. By giving the weeds a fancy name, Disney turned them from a detraction into an attraction.

Here's the thing: just by giving something a name, you can greatly increase its value.

That's true when you give a weed a fancy name...and it is also true when dealing with your kids.

When we spoke to Tia Slightham, a parenting coach and best-selling author, she shared a technique she calls "Golden Time" that you can use to connect with your kids, and proactively meet their needs for attention and control.

Golden Time is just a way of spending special time with your child, to help them feel loved, give them attention, and help them feel in control.

But the secret to Golden Time is that you give that time a name - it can be "Golden Time" or "Special Time" or whatever your child wants to name it. By simply giving it a name, you instantly make the time more valuable - meaning you both get more value out of the time you are already spending together.

Here's what Tia said about Golden Time:

I’m going to tell you, after the first day you’re going to see changes. Your kids are going to love it if you set it up properly. But in one week, with consistency, you’re going to see a major return in terms of better listening and cooperation.

And so really making sure that you include those five ingredients and giving it a name is where your kids start to say, “Oh. We’re doing Golden Time now. This is my time. This is where my mom or dad focuses on me. I don’t have to fight for attention because I’m already getting what I need.”

Tia Slightham

In our interview, Tia shares the 5 key ingredients of Golden Time, and also some simple secrets to getting the most value out of the Golden Time.

Tia also shares more tips for how to parent "smarter, not harder", and how to reduce the amount of parenting work you need to do.