Parenting with Love

As parents, we take our love for our children as a given. But do we consider whether the way we talk to our children communicates that love to them? Many of us have a tendency to use "negatives" when talking with our kids. "Don't do that," "Stop," "No," "If you do that one more time then...." Do these phrases sound familiar?

If so, then it may be time to consider another approach...positive parenting.

What makes a good parent?

It's not discipline, or striving for respect (or fear). Above all else, it's trust!Most parenting literature can be ignored. But parents everywhere will tell you that if you trust yourself enough to trust your child, the job becomes so much easier.

Incorporating Mindfulness into Motherhood

Mindful Motherhood, simply put, is being present in your body, and connected with your baby even when the going gets rough. It's being aware of your experience from moment to moment, as it is happening, without pushing it away, trying to make it stay, or judging it as bad or good. It is meeting each situation as it is, and over time, more and more often, approaching whatever is happening with curiosity and compassion.

Mindful Motherhood is a way of approaching all of the experiences you'll encounter as a mom with open eyes and an open heart. Whether those experiences are internal, like thoughts, feelings, or body sensations; or external, like relationships, workplace situations, or the situations in your environment, mindful motherhood is a way of simply being with whatever is happening, no matter what it is. While it may be simple, for most of us, it's not easy.

How to be a good parent: It’s all about you!

So much of the information out there about how to be a better parent focuses on techniques for modifying your child’s behavior. But it is missing the mark. Research has shown that the one thing a person can do to be a better parent is to focus on developing him or herself. This is where a person has to start in order to be a nurturing, attuned mother or father. When it comes to parenting, there are many reasons for us to look inward and understand ourselves as people if our goal is to become a better parent.

Using Your Strengths

After you recognize what your strengths are as a person, you can adapt them to your parenting and create a parenting style of your own. It will be yours, based on your individualism. It will be molded through time by your children's personality. What it won't be is something you've read out of a book. There are four different broad parenting styles, but only one that you should use as the foundation for your unique style.

10 Talents of Parenting

A 10-part Series by Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D.For some people, parenting seems to come easily. They play, respond to children's needs, understand children’s feelings and trust themselves. The rest of us need to work at it a bit more. But that’s OK, we don’t have to all be naturals. Each of us can develop those traits that will make us the parents we want to be.

Praise children's effort, not their intelligence

Parents who tell their children how clever they are may be doing them more harm than good, according to a study which found it is best to praise the effort rather than the child.Congratulating a toddler by praising them directly can discourage them from working hard because they believe their abilities are "fixed" at a high level, researchers said.In contrast, telling a child "you worked really hard" or "you're doing very well" teaches them that reward comes through effort and encourages them to challenge themself.