20 Ways to Be a Better Parent
It’s always the little things that make the biggest impact… and it’s always the little things that I neglect.
I often feel so caught up in the never ending cycles of laundry, homework and dinners that I forget to notice the small things. I often feel stretched so thin that I forget that pulling back a little is the best way to avoid a complete catastrophe. Life often whirrs past me so fast that I fail to notice the moments when something small could make a big difference.
I want to do better.
I want to notice, and take time, and help us all do better.
I want to…
Sit for a moment.
Listen.
Sing requests in an opera voice
Smile… even when I feel like crap.
Hold hands as much as possible.
Tell fart jokes.
Take a breath.
Give cow kisses.
Read, read, read.
Wait.
Dance.
Draw faces on their sandwich wrappers.
Remember what it was like to be a kid
Notice the little things, and remark on them
Make time, even if it is only 30 seconds.
Remember… they are still small
Say yes.
What would you add to my list?
What do you want to do more of or be better at?
yesterday I let the littlest one fall asleep on me…and I didnt try to move him so I could do stuff. I just sat and stared at him (and occasionally closed my eyes) and just did nothing.
I saw that photo on facebook and it made me smile…. bliss.
Great list.
Except for the cow kisses…
Not sure about that one! ;-)
My mantras this year are:
Be kind.
Be calm.
Oh but cow kisses are the best way to make a grumpy kid smile… you can’t not giggle when someone licks you on the cheek! LOL
Great mantras!
We call cow kisses ‘puppy dog kisses’ and yes they do work.
I would add,
‘say sorry’
‘Don’t blame, question them’
Realise differences. (Mother to twins here)
Oh yes ‘say sorry’ is a great one… :)
And as a fellow mother of twins I would probably add ‘realise differences and accept the clash of similarities.’ :)
What a lovely post and I love your list Kate! I am trying not to say ‘in a minute’ so much…the look on their faces when I say it can just break my heart….the dishes and washing can wait….just have to embrace that and let go of my perfectionist self as it doesn’t sit well with parenting.
Oh yes! I need to add – give up ‘busy’
I’m at least trying not to say ‘hurry up’ so much… even when we are in a rush, telling them to hurry doesn’t help and just stresses everyone… so I’m working on just calmly asking them to do what needs to be done without the stressful language.
I want to show gratitude to those I love and be better at accepting less than my best as I can see my big girl already starting to exhibit many of my Type A personality traits. Not sure that I can change that for her but I want her to be reassured that having a go and doing your best is more important than being the best.
‘done is better than perfect’…. I am working on this too :)
Our 4yr old says ” do your best , forget the rest “!
I too, often forget that they are small. I have 5 kiddos ranging from 2-10. And i forget that my 2 and 4 year old cant do what my older girls can. Thanks for sharing
I forgot that too!
And I forget that even my nine year olds are still kinda small in the grand scheme of things… at least they really are not adults!
Love it!
Mine is definitely say yes more!
Plus….
Add lunch box notes more often
Dance
Teach my older two to sew
I want to teach my big kids to sew too… I just need to muster up the courage to find the sewing machine which was stored in the shed two years ago!
I rap reminders rather than nag. My son adds the sound effects and we laugh through “get out the door” time.
oh that is so much cooler than singing like and opera lady! LOL
Love it.
I’d add admit when I’m wrong & lower expectations.i think When your expectations are lower you are often surprised more often & thankful for the small things in life :-)
A while ago I had a light bulb moment about expectations… ‘expect a little more, accept a little less’. I blogged about it a while back but it’s still working for me… best of both words!
Agree agree agree :) Pinned and added to my Buffer
Love this. So very much.
Great list, I’d like to make sure I start with a smile and a hug first too.
What a wonderful dance! I am trying to teach my son to say he is sorry by setting a good example.
Yes! Saying sorry and admitting when you are wrong is a great thing to add
Step back and just enjoy the moment in what my twins are doing. Watching them have such simple gleeful pleasures can help snap me out of my need for better. Also, how easy it is for them to give their complete love for no good reason other than they felt it in that moment!! I could learn from that.
ah kids have a way of really living in the moment don’t they! I wish I could do the same!
love this especially the farts :)
This list made me feel really great this morning because I do almost all of these!! I’d add…tell stories about similar SCREW UPS you committed as a child. I’ve seen a lot of teary faces start to smile when I relate some of the bone head moves I pulled as a kid!!
This holidays I’ve been trying to remember to ‘say yes’. It’s amazing how well this works. My 7 year old nearly did a back flip this afternoon when she asked if she could make me a cup of tea all by herself and u said yes- win win I say!
Help eachother
I need to work on the smiling more, especially when I feel like crap! Love this list!
I need to work on that too… I always find I feel a bit better if I can manage to smile about something!