5 Things to Remember When Trying to Be A Positive Parent
As the newest generation of parents set out to begin their child rearing journey, it appears that the “positive parenting” wave has taken the world by storm. “Positive parenting” in a nutshell is a method of parenting that prioritizes childrens’ emotions and mental well being, especially when it comes to discipline. In “The Chronicles of a Girl Named Noa: My Glorious Skin, Noa’s mother knew that there would be challenges they would face as she grew older and became more aware of what made her unique in this world. Instead of ignoring her daughter’s questions or downplaying her emotions, she uses the moment to help her daughter recognize her beauty and thoroughly explain to her how to appreciate other’s unique features without devaluing her own in a way she can understand. Inspired by Noa and her mom’s journey to self love and awareness, here are five things to remember when trying to become a more “positive parent.”
Remember your child is a person, just like you. The same way you get frustrated, angry or overwhelmed, so does your child. It’s actually worse for them because they are years behind you when it comes to figuring themselves out, be gentle with them.
Think of how you react to certain behaviors. How do you react when someone yells at you? If you make a mistake at work, would you be okay with your boss berating you? Remember that the next time you address your child for doing something wrong.
Remember the last time you had a tantrum. When was the last time you acted like a complete brat? Or reacted to a person or situation in a way that you know was unnecessary or inappropriate but you did it anyway because you felt like it? So imagine what goes through a child’s mind who has a fraction of the emotional discipline and awareness that you do.
“Because I said so,” is not a valid answer. Although this has been a go-to answer in the parenting community forever, I don’t believe it should be. I am an entire adult and I don’t do well with not knowing the “why.” It actually is more effective and reasonable for you to explain why you don’t want your child to do something or what the consequences are.
Are you projecting your own frustrations on your child? Sometimes you’ve had a long day at work or you have a raging headache and any little thing your child does causes you to blow up. However, that isn’t particularly fair to their child and it wouldn’t be fair if someone took out their emotions on you that had nothing to do with you. Check yourself before checking your little one.