Adventures in Parenting

Yesterday, our challenge was to identify one area in our parenting efforts that could use some improvement. We were to find some resources that address that issue.

Today, Day 6 of our 30 Days to Better Parenting Challenge – Day 6our task is to put one new idea that you found into practice. Just ONE.

We can get overwhelmed with the amount of information out there, it just seems easier to keep the status quo.
Albert Einstein was attributed to saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expect different results.”

I repeat that quote to myself often.

We complain about things in our lives that are not right, don’t we? Yet, if we don’t make some effort to make changes, can we expect the situation to change? It is insanity to do the same thing over and over again, and expect different results!

If we are repeatedly nagging our children to pick up their socks, and they continue to leave their socks all over the house, their behavior will not change if our approach do not change. We are insane to think that our continued nagging will get them to pick up their socks someday.

Here’s another example: I found myself prone to losing my temper every evening getting the kids to bed. Then I get mad at myself for losing my temper! I didn’t want to continue that defeating pattern of behavior. It’s just no fun to end the day that way every night. Instead of allowing that pattern to go on, I had to change my tactic. I begin to get myself into a better mood first by taking a shower and relaxing before I attempt to get the children ready. This really helped because my fuse is not so short if I am a little more rested.

In a tennis match, if one player gains the momentum in winning several consecutive points, the losing player has to consciously make a change to vary the pace, try something different. He cannot afford to allow the momentum of the opponent to continue.

So it is with parenting. We have to try different approaches, change things up a bit.

If we get stuck in a rut, and it is hard to break out of our pattern. As we saw yesterday, there are plenty of resources to give us fresh ideas to deal with our problem areas.

Today, take just ONE advice you found yesterday and put it into practice. Watch the results. I think both you and your children will be pleasantly surprised.

It’s worth a try.