Parenting concretely Part 1

We all want to be the best parents we can. Various things that life thows at us make it difficult. Life these days is going at mock speed and sometimes our kids lose out because of it. I just read two articles that I REALLY enjoy. 

Three Unbelievably Simple Parenting Ideas (that Work!)

Ten Parenting Lessons that Will Make a Significant Impact on your Child’s Life

In all my studies of human interaction, these pinpoint and make it simpler for parents to better. And doing better is so subjective, so here are some concrete ideas, that come from the first article. The second article is deeper and will take at least 1-2 more posts to get through :)

These come directly from the synopisis of the podcast over at Power of moms:

1) Children need a minimum of 8 touches during a day to feel connected to a parent. 

If they’re going through a particularly challenging time, it’s a minimum of 12 a day.  This doesn’t have to be a big deal–it could be the straightening of a collar, a pat on the shoulder, or a simple hug.

(2) Each day, children need one meaningful eye-to-eye conversation with a parent. 

It is especially important for babies to have that eye contact, but children of all ages need us to slow down and look them in the eyes.

(3) There are nine minutes during the day that can have the greatest impact on a child.

• the first three minutes–right after they wake up
• the three minutes after they come home from school, and
• the last three minutes of the day–before they go to bed.

I love these, because I can pick one and do it for a week or more and have it become a habit. I have seen all 3 of these make my children happier and feel more secure. When life gets crazy and you need to get back to basics this is a great place to start. 

So full of impact, but not hard to do. What every parent who is exhausted and worn out needs- simple effective parenting tips :) Love it!
I have no doubt, that if you talked to Christ, He would look you straight in the eye, touch your should or hug you. These are tips to better parenting and to parenting in a Christlike manner. That's a win-win :)

Willow