MY TOP 5 PARENTING TIPS FOR 2021.
Here are my top 5 parenting tips to inspire into the new year. I hope you will consider, acknowledge and share your own parenting tips too.
As we collectively embark on our new journey in life and parenting, we can certainly reflect on lessons learned over the previous years. 2020 was a year of uncertainty and challenges as well as a year of growth and focus. Moving forward in 2021 with positivity and assurance seems so very important right now. Whilst we continue to look forward to easier and better days, I would like to share some of my parenting tips with you.
- Cultivating Creativity
There are so many benefits for overall wellbeing associated with creative activities. This is a great parenting tip that benefits both the parent and the child.
- Carrying out a focused activity helps to focus and calm the mind which in turn helps to reduce stress and anxiety.
- Having fun together is a lovely way to bond and deepen relationships.
- Time spent well together creates meaningful memories.
- Finding different projects to enjoy will keep you motivated and enthusiastic as well as help improve brain function.
- It is a great way to improve confidence, self esteem and self worth.
- Creative activities help promote a sense of self achievement, improve various skills and help with personal development.
The best part is that you can explore different creative activities and skills in a completely safe and nuturing environment. This will help develop your confidence as a parent and also a creative individual in your own right. It will be a very useful way to explore your own interests as well as encouraging your child at the same time.
2. Embracing Uncertainty
We find it difficult as adults to deal with uncertainty and so this a great skill to learn early. This parenting tip will allow you to recognise and establish your own reactions towards uncertainty. Following this, you can find your own method to teach your children to adjust, adapt and react as appropriate. The last year has taught us so much about living with uncertainty. Skills in flexibility as well a appropriate recognition of emotions has been vital. It is always important to validate our own emotions as parents and recognise the impact of them on our parenting style. We must at first be mindful of ourselves and our feelings. We must then take steps to improve our own wellbeing. This will really empower us to feel more in control which always helps in our parenting style.
3. Active Listening
Listening is part of our daily lives. This parenting tip is to encourage you to be attentive towards active listening. As we begin to pay more attention to the chatter of our children, we begin to pick up on cues. It becomes easier to pick up on their anxieties, worries, thought processes and hopes. The more we actively listen, the more we actively engage. A parent and child bond thrives on engagement and interaction.
4. Encouraging imagination
The value of imaginative play is well established. This is a great parenting tip to help children explore their senses, environment and relationships. In turn, it is a smart way to understand your child better. Often children will reveal their inner thoughts or display their learned behaviours during imaginative play. This is an insightful tool for you as a parent.
5. Realistic Resilience
It seems there is a lot of focus on building resilience in both adults and children. This is a great parenting tip to encourage your growth as a parent who in turn is raising resilient future adults. Realistic resilience recognises that we must be aware that being resilient varies at each stage and age in life. In addition, it realises the impact of our own learned behaviours and biases that must be altered, unlearned or acknowledged. Being connected with our morals and values encourages us to advocate better for our children. Resilience is an evolving process.
Parenting is an intuitive and developing skill. I hope these parenting tips have been useful to you. By continuing to be reflective, mindful and adaptive, we can continue to grow and evolve to be even better parents. Thus, we will navigate our parenting journeys feeling empowered. We will certainly be able to thrive as parents and enable our children to thrive.
I wonder what parenting tips you are carrying forward?
