We are just two months away from the end of 2022! What a year this has been, and it’s not over yet.
What is your biggest struggle right now ? What struggle will you carry on into 2023 because it’s too deep and serious to go away?
No matter the age of the children, country of residence, or family history, most universal parenting struggles are :
- yell at your kids and feel guilty afterwards
- feel that you already “lost” your chid to peer influence and/ or digital media
- struggle with physical, mental & emotional exhaustion ( impatience, being snappy, moody, unpredictable, anxious, depressed)
- self-doubt
- notice that you’re passing on your family’s trauma but don’t know what else to do
- can’t set firm limits with love or can’t be consistent with limits ( rules)
- struggle with sibling rivalry, jealousy or aggression
- your child is aggressive and you don’t know what to do but punish him/her
- are divorced and co-pareting with your ex is hard or toxic
- your child lies to you
- don’t know how or cannot take care of yourself
In any difficult parenting situation, connection through listening is always ( yes, always!) the answer. As one mom told me today, “Yes, I know intellectually, but it’s not easy!” . She’s right.
Listening is simple, but it’s not easy. Here are two reminders about listening:
1) connection is not possible in the absence of listening
2) listening is not possible in the absence of the parent’s emotional self- regulation
Listening is the ability to hold space with full presence. I wrote many articles on this blog about HOW TO listen well. Please go back and read about hands- on tools and tips for listening.
As you are getting ready for 2023, what parenting struggle would you like to resolve, heal or manage better?
What tools for presence and connection do you still need? My Conscious Parent Accelerator Program can help. Join today.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” (African proverb)