May 25, 2022 3 min read Posts

Some Parenting Advice

Let's all calm down before scolding your child. This is something I need to practice, everything just penetrates better when either of us is either angry or sad.

Think about how you treat people in front of your child. It's a cliché but so true, they will do what you do, not what you say.

"The question isn't so much, Are you parenting the right way? as it is: Are you the adult you want your child to grow up to be."

~ Brené Brown

Your perspective is not the same as your child's. Do your best to try to see it from their eyes.

They understand more than you think, so treat them with respect, love, and care.

Be patient, listen and let them process things in their own time.

Make sure they know that you are in their corner no matter what. This is probably the most important one. With a helping hand, they have the confidence to fail and get back up.

Is it a problem, or do you just overreacting?

Spilled milk, a crushed glass? Accident happens, especially with kids.

Take full responsibility. (Angry because your child painted on the wall? maybe you haven't taught them how to paint on paper, maybe it was just too early to give them a pack of crayons.)

Keep you updated with the latest research, on what to eat, and how to behave. Being curious about best practices is always a winner.

Don't forget to have fun. Show them how you have fun. If they don't like it try to see if you can find out what they enjoy. I put a lot of time into finding out what we both like. Finding the sweet spot, so to say.

Write down what kind of person you want them to be. ( Interdependence, Deep Kindness, Grateful, Educated, Healthy, Confident, Courageous, Passionate, Contributor, and Gentlemen are just a couple of examples.) If you don't know where you going, it's hard to arrive at the right place.

Build trust and do what you say. If you say that they can watch TV until the dinner is ready. Please turn it off. Sometimes it's worth throwing some toys in the garbage if that's what you said you going to do.

Prepare them in time for what will happen next. I know you think, easier said than done. But letting them know that they are going to the nursery or that mammy is going to work today, is just helping them to process it in their own time.

We all thrive better with habits, if you can get the basics into habits ( Sleeping schedule, food schedule, exercise, and education time), then you have time over to conquer the unknown and get punched from all the outside noise.

Give them a push and some disruption to cope with stress later. Travel to a new place, let a friend or another family member babysit. Push them to try something new and give it time to sink in. Don't forget that you have an individual, with their personality, their strengths, and weaknesses.

"If parenthood came with a GPS it would mostly just say... recalculating."

~Unknown

Talk to them as a grown-up. Skip the baby talk and stop treating them as a baby. They are much smarter than you think! This will also help them with their language skills.

But be careful, safety first, always.

A couple of days ago I saw two parents filming their son when he jump on the bike for the first time, he crashed into a stonewall. Probably better to hold the bike than the video camera.