Monday, April 30, 2012

5 Important parenting tips from Brittany!

Hey everyone!
 So a lot of you always ask me "How is Carson so well behaved?!" Or I get the comment "He is such a good baby!"
So I thought I would take a minute and share with you a few things I find to be the "key ingredients" in my parenting choices.

1. We don't say the word "NO".
   - I'm sure you have all heard the 2 year old at the grocery store screaming "NO NO NO NO NO!" and yes, that mom IS in fact tired of hearing it too. There is a way, however, to have your child steer away from this habit that all kids this age have. Use positive affirmations! Instead of telling Carson "No, you can't play with that!" I say "Carson, let's put that away and find something else, please."

2. We imagine how we would feel.
  - Now this part goes hand-in-hand with number 1.
You probably work better when your boss is kinder to you, right? You would rather hear "Hey, Brittany, instead of throwing the paper in the black garbage pail, can you please recycle it in the green one?" V.S - "No, Brittany, that's not right. quit putting that in the black garbage pail!"

3. Let him experience life.
  - We all want to protect our kids, that's a given. We definitely wouldn't let them touch the hot pot on the stove intentionally. But for the things that don't matter, let them figure it out on their own! Let them make a mess of their food! Let them go play with the kids at the park. Just let them be. This is, assuming you will intervene when necessary, we don't want the poor kid in the sandbox to be knocked unconscious. (Most of the time.) Your child will become independent and social if you let them PLAY.

4.Never underestimate your child!
  - I made this mistake! Carson and I were outside picking out things to gather in his "treasure bucket" and he wanted to put a HUGE rock in there. I said to him "That rock is too big! You won't be able to lift it!" Sure enough, he did! We often think our children are incapable of something, but that is because we haven't seen them try it yet! Believe in your child, and they will believe in themselves.

5. Share the love.
  - My mom taught me how important it is to tell someone you love them. ALWAYS have it be the last thing you tell your child. Even when we got into fights and were screaming at each other, the last thing we screamed over the phone before hanging up on one another, was "I LOVE YOU!" *click*  I'm so happy my mom taught me this because I have friends who don't tell their parents over the phone, and I always silently think "What if that were the last time you talked to your mom?"  For me, I'm glad the last thing I said to my mom was "I love you." TELL YOUR CHILD YOU LOVE THEM, AND THEY WILL KNOW IT FOREVER.

I hope you liked my blog! You don't have to "agree" with me on this matter, I just thought I'd share, since so many people comment on Carson's behavior!