5 hard pills for parents to swallow

It’s tough to admit, but quite often it’s on us. The expectations we set for our little ones, our perception of their behaviour, how we respond (or react) to them during their tougher moments, it’s on us. So these 5 reminders are always important to remain conscious of.

“My parents did it and I turned out fine” is something I hear a lot. The problem is, when we lean on this statement or use it as justification for our behaviour, then we lose sight of what our child needs at that moment. Our child is a unique human being, they have their own personality and their own patterns of behaviour.

I hope you find these 5 points useful, some of them may not be easy to hear, but at least being conscious of them, it’ll make us more aware as we progress through the tougher moments of our parenting journey.

1. Saying “my parents did it and I turned out fine” to justify our behaviour isn’t good enough.

2. Anger, frustration and upset are all valid feelings our child is entitled to feel, we should acknowledge those feelings, not suppress them. 

3.  When our child is demanding or being challenging, chances are they’re communicating a need deeper than what they’re able to vocalise. Naturally, we may want to shut them down, but we need to do our best to connect with them.

4.  We must work on regulating our own emotions every single day, therefore we’re better placed to respond to our children when they need us most. 

5. Projecting our fears, insecurities or missed dreams can lead to our child feeling trapped. We then focus on what‘s “wrong” with our child. It’s not on them, it’s on us.

If you would like to read more about remaining calm during those tougher parenting moments, grab my FREE 10-page document where I explore 5 clear steps that may be able to help you. You can download it via the form below.