This post is brought to you by Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.
Mamas: I will be the first person to admit wholeheartedly that I lose it sometimes as a parent. I don’t always make the perfect decisions and I’ve been called “the mean mom” before by my almost nine year old. It comes with the territory. But on the flipside, I’m also the mom who believes in positive parenting and having it be a part of my everyday, and will lay awake at night feeling immense mom guilt if I didn’t help foster a positive experience or moments during the day for my kids. It’s all about balance with parenthood, amiright?
I will repeat over and over that I’m not the perfect parent, because that doesn’t exist. We’re all just learning as we go and making the best choices as we can on a daily basis with the best interest of our kiddos in mind. At the end of the day, I always want my kids to know that they can come to me for a huge dose of positivity and lots and lots of hugs. Here’s how I help to practice positive parenting in my everyday life.
- We play.
This summer, I mixed up my regular routine a bit so that I could take a break in the afternoon everyday before Blake’s nap to spend some quality time with the kids. Whether we go to the park or do an indoor science experiment or board game, it gives us a chance to connect and step outside of our tech filled days.
- We make sure we have down time.
I feel like this is almost more important than anything else. When my kids are on the go nonstop, that’s when all the mis-behavior starts to happen and then I react negatively to that. In an attempt to be proactive, I make sure I work down time into our day because it’s so necessary!
- I start conversations that don’t involve questions.
I find that with Branden, I get nothing but “yes” or “no” answers whenever I come at him with questions. I’ve found that the best approach to have a constructive conversation with him happens when I start by telling him about my day or a memory or story of some sort. It gets him chatty in a whole new way.
- I validate their emotions.
I want my kids to know that it’s alright to be upset or sad or frustrated. Those are all valid emotions and sometimes completely necessary to move through in order for something to be resolved. So we talk about what they’re going through and I never, ever tell them that they shouldn’t feel a certain way as it definitely helps calm any anxiety.
During this special back to school time, if you need a little extra help in this area, visiting The Early Childhood Clinical Service at the Child Study Center, part of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, to help promote positive parenting and understanding of your young child is a great place to start! They focus on evaluating the development of young children and teaching healthy parenting practices that can help promote positive behavior, emotional regulation, social skills, and early learning competencies in young children – giving your kids the best start!
How do you promote positive parenting?
Fashionably Yours,
Allison
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