Nov
20
2011
TAGS: baby development ⋅ baby learning ⋅ baby parenting ⋅ conscious parenting ⋅ listening to your baby ⋅ nurturing parenting ⋅ parenting ⋅ parenting awareness ⋅ parenting choices ⋅ parenting confidence ⋅ parenting skills ⋅ parenting support ⋅ toddler parenting
A survey of how babies are parented around the globe quickly reveals that beyond adequate shelter and food, little else is agreed upon as physical “necessities” for raising a young child. All the choices in clothing, gear, and extras are additions to the business of parenting. Although in the industrialized western countries the focus can become fixed on the material choices, the truly significant pieces come from within the parents. Regardless of where you are in the world, regardless of where you are on the income scale, if you are stable with food and shelter, you are a candidate for being a wonderful parent.
How can I make this sweeping statement, pushing aside all material choices in favor of a more primary, more fundamental choice? It is because your awareness of your own true nature and how you bring that to parenting is infinitely more significant than any material choice. When you embrace a willingness to relax and possibly not know what’s next, the opening of your mind and heart gives you access to wisdom beyond virtual reality. Moving beyond a limited point of view allows us, as parents, to expand our focus rather than narrow it. As we expand our personal selves, we begin to see the true nature of our baby. The harmonization that is possible within ourselves then carries over to our interaction with our baby.
Not many parenting guides encourage you to let go of all your concepts and scripts and welcome the mystery of your own being. It is, in fact, the ideal set up to experience your new baby in the most clear depth of awareness, free of conditioning. Our young children often draw us into the present moment very effectively. Responding to life in this powerfully spontaneous way is also a model for us to access something that is not mentally created. Wisdom, innocence, and love come with your new baby. Take the time to tune in and tap into it as you parent.
Jan
10
2011
TAGS: parenting ⋅ parenting confidence ⋅ parenting suport
At the end of the day, confidence is the single most important aspect of how to approach parenting. Confidence does not by any means imply that you have all the answers, that you know what to do in every (or even most) situations, or that you ever stop learning. What confidence means is trusting yourself to proceed in this remarkably challenging and rewarding endeavor with the inner knowing that you have what it takes, that you have appropriate resources on hand, that you understand your own self well enough to modulate, reflect, and be flexible.
In many cases (my own included), becoming a parent gave me a sense of connection to something much larger that I had always desired and sought in my life. Suddenly the tangible, clear application of my actions and intentions was right before me, and it parlayed me into a sort of direction and bliss that I had never experienced. I am by no means saying that is was simple or that I understood much of what I was experiencing. All I mean is that when my older son was born over 26 years ago, I had an instinctive “awakening” that it was my mission to do whatever I could to take the best possible care of him (including resolving some old family of origin issues of my own). I do feel that over time, and with the birth of his siblings, I understood more and more what exquisite teachers I had right in my own little family!
The confidence which serves us well as parents is the wisdom and insight to see ourselves, our partners, and our children as the purveyors of the ultimate learning experiences we most need. Then we can parlay whatever behaviors, challenges, and perplexities we think we see before us into the most amazing self-exploration opportunity available. Our own growth is inevitable, and as it occurs, it supports those with whom we are closest.
Parenting confidence is essential to the most important job you’ll ever do. Be sure to equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support systems that work best for you. It’s a journey with limitless opportunities!
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