Parenting in the Present: 8 Questions Effective Parents Ask Regularly

Parenting is a demanding role and one that requires constant reflection and adaptation. Children change and what worked in one stage of development most likely won’t work in the next stage. Redirecting a 2-year-old is effective, but try that strategy on a moody teenager. Now add siblings and we have a dynamic that can make your head spin when you consider important parenting responsibilities such as connection, fairness, routines, rituals, and discipline. We enter parenthood without a precise playbook, and, typically, our only intimate view of the role came from our experience of being parented. All these variables can make one feel unsteady, and in our quick-fix, search engine culture it is easy to end up in the cycle of “I’ve tried everything.” Effective parenting is steady and true to the fundamentals of development—including our own. Here are 8 questions that emanate from these fundamentals and help us to be effective parents in each phase of life: Do I lead more than I manage? Parenting is a primary role of authority and leadership. Leading requires a vision and a plan—and there is no better place to start than the wide perspective of this space. Leading is knowing who you want to be as a parent and where you want your family to be in the future, arising from a powerful why. Leading is knowing who your children are, their unique personalities and strengths. Management is in the structure and systems of the day-to-day and is meaningless and chaotic without a...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Parenting Child Development Effective Communication Source Type: blogs