The Orange Rhino Challenge Day

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Whatever you do, just spread the word that

This Thursday May 17^th, 2012 is the 1^st official “The Orange Rhino Challenge Day” one day where I encourage everyone to take a break from yelling at their kids. To try and go 24 hours without yelling at their kids. 

I know it sounds daunting. But I promise you, it is worth giving a try. How do I know? Because this Thursday, I, the Orange Rhino will be celebrating 100 DAYS without yelling at my kids. 100 Days of LOVING MORE. I have experienced firsthand how hard it is too change the nasty habit of yelling at my kids AND I have experienced just how awesome it is to no longer consider myself a yeller.

Here are the details of how you can participate:

1)      “Post” your name to show your participation on the morning of May 17^th in one of four ways: Post at The Orange Rhino Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/TheOrangeRhino) , Comment on Thursday mornings Blog Post at www.TheOrangeRhino.com , Email me at theorangerhinochallenge@gmail.com, or Tweet me at ORchallenge. At the end of the day, Post AGAIN to say how the day went.

2)      Find Support and Give Support  throughout the day by logging on to your method of communication. Feel like yelling? Yell at me. Need advice on how to survive the day? Ask the community. Want encouragement? Seek it from us. This is a day for all parents who want to be Orange Rhinos, who want to be parents who have the energy and determination to forge ahead and parent with more composure and warmth and without the yelling!

3)      Get 3-5 friends to take this ONE DAY challenge with you. Why? Besides the fact that it will help you make it through the day if you text each other and support each other, instead of throwing a 100 day party for myself (and using the money I have saved from future therapy bills for my children!) I am going to DONATE $1.00 per person up to $200 to Habitat for Humanity for every person that participates. Why a charitable donation and why Habitat for Humanity? Well, truthfully, I feel like giving back. I’ve gotten so much out of this Challenge that it is time to give back. As for Habitat, well, if it weren’t for my being able to do home improvements to my house, I would never have had the Epiphany (https://theorangerhino.com/the-epiphany/) that started this Challenge in the first place.

4) Change your FB Profile picture to The Orange Rhino Challenge image to spread the word and to get people asking you about what you are doing further getting you support! It’s amazing how people rooting for you can really help. Go to the BUTTON picture in the right column of my blog and Save As. Then upload it to FB.

5)      Read the Following Posts about what defines yelling and some ways I have learned not to yell to help you (and go to www.TheOrangeRhino.com on Wednesday night for more useful posts…)

https://theorangerhino.com/the-challenge-details/ (definition of yelling per this challenge)
https://theorangerhino.com/you-never-know/ (inspiration to try)
https://theorangerhino.com/orange-rhino-mommy/ (my favorite source of help not yelling)
https://theorangerhino.com/three-fun-alternatives-to-yelling-at-my-kids/ (self explanatory!)
https://theorangerhino.com/sing-my-emotion/ (way not to yell, inspiration)
https://theorangerhino.com/why-the-big-tears/ (way not to yell, inspiration)

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I know not yelling even just for one day sounds laughable. Trust me, I know. I used to yell oh say once an hour, on a good day?! But 117+ days ago on Friday, January 20, 2012 after our handyman busted me yelling at my 4 boys, I had an epiphany; I yell at my kids much more than I like. The next day I committed to going 365 days without yelling. It has not been easy and that first day was BRUTAL. I felt beat up come 7:00. But I did it. I did it. And it felt so fantastic that I was thirsty for more. I knew it was going to take a lot of hard work to go 365 days but I also knew that my kids were worth it. They deserve a mom who loves more and yells less.

After many starts and re-starts I am excited to say that this Thursday I will celebrate 100 days without yelling at my kids.

100 days. I NEVER thought it would be possible. Never. I was (am?!) a yeller beyond belief. I yelled at big things (hitting each other, not listening, potty talk) and really little things (crumbs on the floor, legos dumped out, taking too long to eat). It was out of control, I was not the mom I wanted to be and my children were suffering as a result. Yet here I am, almost at 100 days and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than sharing this joy with others hence the creation of this day.

You see, as hard as it has been, not yelling at my kids has been the greatest gift. Read here to see how I felt after 10 days of not yelling: https://theorangerhino.com/can-you-feel-the-love/ I feel SO MUCH BETTER about myself as a parent and I know my kids feel so much better about me as a mom. It’s a win win. There is simply more love going around and I want everyone to experience what I am feeling.

I hear often from people that they too want to change, that they really wish they didn’t yell but that they truly don’t think they can change. So this is your chance. Just try it for a day. Commit to ONE DAY of not yelling. It will be a HARD day, I’m not gonna lie, BUT it will be worth it. After my first day I literally felt high on life and I floated around the house with excitement. Excitement for the future. For the future improvement in my relationship with my kids. The future improvement of me as a parent. The future improvement of having a quieter, calmer, more loving home.

So just try it. It took me just 1 day of not yelling at kids to realize that while hard, YES I COULD learn to not yell at them. And so you can you.

“You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

www.TheOrangeRhino.com
I can’t yell for 365 days…but I can still pick my nose!