Practicing What I Preachby Kori Rodley Irons | More from this Blogger 06 Dec 2007 10:20 AM Like most seasoned parents, I am often full of ideas, suggestions, and parenting advice. To hear me carry on, you would think that there is never anything that happens with my kids that I can't and don't handle with aplomb-well, that couldn't be further from the truth... Recently I was chatting with an old friend of mine whose two children are in their late twenties. I have known this woman since her children were younger than mine are now so we have some shared parenting history! As I was telling her about some of my recent struggles, she started to chuckle: "I remember very clearly YOU telling me when my kids were in high school that I needed to let them make their own choices and mistakes and that they would turn out fine-now you sound like I did then!" She was right-it is always much easier for me to tell other people what they ought to be doing as parents than to catch myself and practice what I preach. The fact that I struggle with all of these same issues that most parents struggle with does give me compassion. I am far from perfect and what seems so clear when it is someone else's problem or someone else's child can be perplexing when it is happening in your own family. Plus, I am NOT a robot, I get agitated, annoyed, worried, and fearful and this definitely affects my parenting choices more often than I would like to admit. But, I am fortunate to have a couple great old friends around to help keep me grounded, and remind me when I start to lose perspective. What a gift good earthy friends can be. With a little nudge, I can be brought back to reality and work on practicing what I have been preaching! Also: Encouraging or Demanding? The Role of Adaptation in Parenting Learn more about Kori Rodley Irons  Bio has been removed by administrator Relevantparenting tags User Comments fun2parent (191) 08 Dec 2007 11:28 PMI completely understand you! I have a website on parenting called "Fun Playful Parent" so I feel like everyone expects me to be this perfect parent. For example, I have a page on table manners for kids, so at thanksgiving and Christmas when all of our family is over at our house I'm always worried that they're probably thinking "oh-her kids aren't following those rules!" All I can say is I do my best, and I know I make mistakes but at least I can acknowledge that fact and work to improve on them! Great post by the way! Alisha Community Tags choices, practicing, techniques Discuss this article
|
Parents categories |
