Adventures in Parenting

Photo by kalandrakas

So we all want to be a better parent, right?

I am challenging myself and you along with me to the 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge.

We do one thing a day for 30 days that will help us become better parents. Sounds doable, doesn’t it?

After 30 days, I hope we would have developed habits that will change our mindset and behavior to be better parents.

Notice our goal is to be Better Parents, not perfect parents. There ain’t no such thing as a perfect parent! But no matter what stage of parenting you are in, we can all be better parents in one way or another.

Let’s begin Day One of our Adventure in Parenting!

Your first task on this 30-Day Challenge is to give everyone in your family a big strong hug and tell each one that you love him/her. Sounds too easy?

You might be thinking, “I didn’t need you to tell me to hug my kids!” But oftentimes, our family members are taken for granted. Familiarity breeds contempt, they say.

You might say, “Of course my wife knows I love her,” or “I am sure my daughter knows I love her.” You see each other day in and day out, in the door and out the door. In your busyness, have your children heard those 3 words said to them recently? Words left unsaid can lead to misunderstandings and misconceptions. I can not remember a single time when my father said, “I love you.” to me. Sure, men are not demonstrative with their feelings, but just once, I’d like to hear those words to affirm my father’s love.

Have you hugged your teenager recently?

We are especially shy about hugging and expressing our love for our teenagers. I hug my little daughter a lot, but I have to admit, I don’t often hug my 19-year-old son. Yes, he’ll be embarrassed and yes, it’ll be a little awkward. But would you rather wait till you are on your death bed to tell the most important people in your life how much they mean to you?

If you are already in the habit of hugging your family everyday, good for you! Keep it up. Hug them again today, look them squarely in the eye and say, “Son, I love you. You mean the world to me, and I am proud to have you as my son.”

Go ahead, be the loving parent and take the first step towards being a Better Parent.

You will not regret it.

By the way, when I hugged my son and said, “I love you,” he broke into a smile and said, “I love you too, mom.” I am on cloud nine!