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Parenting Tips to Empower Parents to Interact Positively with Their Child
by Tara Paterson
Trust your feelings about how to parent your child. There are no experts, only people who can offer you advice. The expert is you and every child is unique in their experience.
Honor your child’s natural abilities. Every child is unique and needs to be recognized for the values they have within themselves.
Be willing to be flexible while correcting your child. Punishments handed out while feeling frustration or anger are usually overreactions to how we are feeling in the moment.
Set firm boundaries with your child if it is necessary, but remember not everything is a crisis.
Be willing to acknowledge, accept, and apologize for overreacting in a situation with your child. When you are willing to admit you are wrong, you show your child how to correct their own mistakes. They will respect your authority when they are doing something inappropriate.
Honor your child’s feelings about a person or experience. Whether a child misperceives the way something is said or done is irrelevant if it provokes emotion for your child. Adjust according to how your child feels; you will show your child you respect what they have to say and they will respect you for trusting their emotions.
Feel free to set limits with your child. Be willing to pass on performing a task, simply because you feel you have to. Doing something in the space of not wanting to, will lead to resentment later when you feel tired or burnt out.
Embrace your desire to do something for yourself. When your needs are met, you will have more energy and patience to do the things your children want you to do. You must first nurture your own needs so you can nurture the needs of others in your life.
When you are feeling emotion or upset within yourself, acknowledge the emotion and shift the feeling before you interact with your child. We all feel anger and frustration at times, but just as we teach our children not to take out their frustrations on things, animals, or people; neither should we.
Honor your child’s natural rhythm. Children are often rushed to do too much in this day and age which often causes their bodies stress and confusion. Give them a say in free time activities and be willing to change plans if it will bring more peace to your family.
Encourage your child to make choices. Choices allow your child to have independence and makes learning more meaningful. Explain to your child that every experience comes with a choice and assist them with making healthy ones.
Enjoy each moment and the rest will come.
© 2007 by Tara Paterson, All Rights Reserved
Parent Coach, Nationally Syndicated Columnist and Parent Advisor.
www.MomsChoiceAwards.com
www.theJustForMomFoundation.com
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