How is parenting different from marriage? Are there in fact any differences? If parenting was like marriage, what would be the key things that we have to work on? Relationship Marriage is a relationship that we have to work on every day.
The same goes for parenting.
If I don't work on the relationship with my child, all the important aspects of a relationship will not be as solid as it should be.
Think about trust, love, and communication.
Trust I am not sure that we always understand the importance of trust.
In my mind this is the most difficult thing to win back once it is lost.
Can my children trust me? Would they jump of a building if I was standing waiting for them at the bottom? Trust is earned and very easily lost! Honesty Maybe this ties back to trust, but how long will a marriage last without honesty? Do we always tell our children the truth, or de we believe it is sometimes better to not tell the truth to protect our children? If we jokingly lie or exaggerate, will our younger children understand the joke, or do they just see the lie? Communication There are a lot of definitions for communication, but it seems like communication works better when there are more than one party involved.
In marriage, do both partners communicate? What will happen if only one partner talks? It is important for us to allow our children opportunities to communicate with us.
Give your children the freedom to tell you about the interesting things that happens to them in their daily lives.
Don't just bark instructions, but make every possible situation an opportunity to work on communication.
Let your child explain his side of the story.
Listen How often have I heard couples accusing each other of hearing, but not listening?Listening is a very valuable skill that must be learned.
Have we mastered this skill in marriage? Have we taught this skill to our children? Are we listening when our children are talking, or do we continue what we are busy with while they are talking to us? "Look at me when I am talking to you!" Does this sound familiar? Does this rule only apply to children or to their parents as well? Praise Often married couples go out of their ways to thank each other for the "small things" that was done to them.
(This does happen?) How often do we go out of our way to praise or thank our child for something that was done? Isn't it just the best thing in life to see the face of a child after receiving praise from his parents for something done well? Love This is pretty obvious.
When married you get used to the small imperfections (or mistakes?) of your partner.
You live your partner unconditionally.
Does the same unconditional love go for your children? Do we accept our children as unique human beings or do we force them to be something that we as parents want them to be? (There are exceptions where we have to change our children's behaviour).
Some of the best advice I have received in my life was to go and sit down for five minutes every day and think about everything that I have.
Just the positives things in life.
Five minutes is very short time if I am completely honest.
As a parent, I would like to challenge you to spend five minutes every day to appreciate all the wonderful things your child does.
Once again, try and just focus on the positives.
Spot the similarities between yourself and your child.
When people jokingly says he is just like his father, is that always good? Would you be happy with your child being like yourself?
The same goes for parenting.
If I don't work on the relationship with my child, all the important aspects of a relationship will not be as solid as it should be.
Think about trust, love, and communication.
Trust I am not sure that we always understand the importance of trust.
In my mind this is the most difficult thing to win back once it is lost.
Can my children trust me? Would they jump of a building if I was standing waiting for them at the bottom? Trust is earned and very easily lost! Honesty Maybe this ties back to trust, but how long will a marriage last without honesty? Do we always tell our children the truth, or de we believe it is sometimes better to not tell the truth to protect our children? If we jokingly lie or exaggerate, will our younger children understand the joke, or do they just see the lie? Communication There are a lot of definitions for communication, but it seems like communication works better when there are more than one party involved.
In marriage, do both partners communicate? What will happen if only one partner talks? It is important for us to allow our children opportunities to communicate with us.
Give your children the freedom to tell you about the interesting things that happens to them in their daily lives.
Don't just bark instructions, but make every possible situation an opportunity to work on communication.
Let your child explain his side of the story.
Listen How often have I heard couples accusing each other of hearing, but not listening?Listening is a very valuable skill that must be learned.
Have we mastered this skill in marriage? Have we taught this skill to our children? Are we listening when our children are talking, or do we continue what we are busy with while they are talking to us? "Look at me when I am talking to you!" Does this sound familiar? Does this rule only apply to children or to their parents as well? Praise Often married couples go out of their ways to thank each other for the "small things" that was done to them.
(This does happen?) How often do we go out of our way to praise or thank our child for something that was done? Isn't it just the best thing in life to see the face of a child after receiving praise from his parents for something done well? Love This is pretty obvious.
When married you get used to the small imperfections (or mistakes?) of your partner.
You live your partner unconditionally.
Does the same unconditional love go for your children? Do we accept our children as unique human beings or do we force them to be something that we as parents want them to be? (There are exceptions where we have to change our children's behaviour).
Some of the best advice I have received in my life was to go and sit down for five minutes every day and think about everything that I have.
Just the positives things in life.
Five minutes is very short time if I am completely honest.
As a parent, I would like to challenge you to spend five minutes every day to appreciate all the wonderful things your child does.
Once again, try and just focus on the positives.
Spot the similarities between yourself and your child.
When people jokingly says he is just like his father, is that always good? Would you be happy with your child being like yourself?