Parenting is one tough job and a constant learning process. I wish parenting was easy and it didn’t require so much of me, or rather that there was more left of me after the day was done. I wish that my children were angelic, obedient, and always eager to please. I wish that I knew what I was doing. But it doesn’t always work that way—not even close.
However, there are moments when my children melt my heart and leave me in tears because of how loving, appreciative and sweet they are. Their hugs and kisses are the best feeling ever.
Being a parent to Aryanna in my early 20’s was life-changing to say the least. Being a new mom at that time, I had fears, doubts and so many questions. One of the things that helped me in addressing my insecurities was reading books on parenting. It empowered me to become a better mother and helped me understand my feelings. I learned how to let go of guilt, fear, anxiety, uncertainty as I honestly look at what drives my parenting actions and at the same time, gain the ability to connect with my newborn from the heart by uncovering my own heart.
Now that Aryanna is all grown-up and in my opinion has turned out to be such a lovely human being (I think I’m just lucky but my daughter insists that her dad and I are awesome parents *melts heart*), I think whatever I learned from books and applying them in my real life plus, learning from different experiences and some wisdom from my parents were worthwhile.
Aryanna just celebrated her 19th birthday. She grown into beautiful person inside and out. Her dad and I can’t ask for a more loving daughter.
I hope to improve in becoming a better parent and develop more patience for my 5-year old son Dylan. He is one active boy and such a funny character that it takes all my willpower not to give in to his antics.
Caption this. Hahaha
Speaking of parenting books, I found this article online: Helicopter Parenting Is a Trap. It’s Time to Break Free
I’m also looking forward to reading these books:
How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success By Julie Lythcott-Haims
In How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims draws on research, on conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers, and on her own insights as a mother and as a student dean to highlight the ways in which overparenting harms children, their stressed-out parents, and society at large. While empathizing with the parental hopes and, especially, fears that lead to overhelping, Lythcott-Haims offers practical alternative strategies that underline the importance of allowing children to make their own mistakes and develop the resilience, resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary for success. Relevant to parents of toddlers as well as of twentysomethings-and of special value to parents of teens-this book is a rallying cry for those who wish to ensure that the next generation can take charge of their own lives with competence and confidence.
Smart Love: The Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Regulating and Enjoying Your Child By Martha Heineman Pieper and William J. Pieper
Smart Love is a caring and patient approach to parenting created and tested by the husband-and-wife team of Dr. Martha Heineman Pieper and Dr. William J. Pieper. It replaces the old rewards-and-punishments style of parenting parenting as behavior modification which turns parents into disciplinarians, which they don’t want to be, and which treats children as miniature adults, which they aren’t. Smart Love enables parents to understand the world through the eyes of their child at each stage of development. To Smart Love is to cultivate children’s inner happiness while managing their behavior in age-appropriate ways, which ensures that children will grow up well behaved, responsible, self-confident, and able to reach their full potentials.
I hope these new books I ordered have a chapter on how to deal with children when they get sick. Dylan’s been ill the past few days and my world has stopped. No amount of experience can ease my worries as a mother. Haaaaay!
My little nerd is always in good spirits even when he’s not feeling well.
I can muddle through the years of parenting, resenting every hard thing along the way or face those same challenges as one who lives expecting them, embracing them, and believing they are the true path to molding my children’s character and my own.
If there’s a tip I would like to share about parenting is that to keep learning and growing as an individual because nurturing children requires a lot of ourselves and we cannot give them what we don’t have in terms of wisdom.
Embrace the calling of parenthood and see how your life (and your children’s too) change for the better.