Elements of Peaceful, Gentle, and Conscious Parenting
Mindful
Mindfulness is about an awareness of your needs and your child’s needs in the present moment and staying focused on that. It is rather a slowing down of your thoughts and almost a cleansing of your thoughts. It is about thinking less and panicking less and being there in the moment for yourself and your child more. In other words, you can allow yourself to feel without having to react. Every time we choose not to yell or react harshly, we rewire our brain to make it more possible not to lose control. A valuable skill in parenting and life.
Patient
Patience is necessary to have with our children, for they are still new to this world and learning and developing at a rate that is appropriate for them. Our own agendas are what usually cause impatience. Let's remember that
Kind
Kindness is what our children need from us in our responses, our guidance, and mannerisms. Children learn from our example, and one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the example of kindness.
Respect
Children deserve the same respect we give to our loved adults in our lives. When we give them respect, we help give them a strong sense of self worth, and in turn, they will respect us out of love. For the way we treat our children directly impacts how they feel about themselves, even long after they've grown.
Connect
Instead of focusing on how to control a child to do better, it’s more effective to focus on how to connect with a child to DO better. When a child is loved and connected with, they feel like it’s okay for them to be here, taking up space on the planet. They don’t even have to do anything to be loved; they’re more than enough, just as they are. That’s self-love. Our connection to our child is what creates our child’s self esteem, but we’re really talking about self-love. Connection is what restores the joy to parenting. When we delight in our child, it really puts the joy back. We experience the delight with our children, and they feel they are worthwhile
May this Oath Bracelet be your reminder that you contain all these elements of peaceful parenting inside you, you just need a gentle reminder to activate them.
