Lately my almost three year old is really into Daniel Tiger’s neighborhood. I’ve caught myself wondering why I’m not a better parent like the two cartoon parents. In one particular episode, I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of time for the mother tiger to play with Daniel, and I thought to myself, “Well if she never has to cook dinner, of course she has time to think of the perfect jingle to teach Daniel about getting ready for change!” However, while I still have to cook dinner, there isn’t any reason I can’t slow down my life to hone my parenting skills. Positive parenting skills (like authoritative parenting, or active parenting, etc) require time if we’re going to be intentional about our responses instead of reflexive about our responses. Think about it, if we’re running late to the dentist (like I currently am this morning), we’re more likely to be demanding and threatening in our urgency to get into the car, instead of caring and encouraging.
What might you need to trim from your life so you can slow down and be more intentional in your parenting?
Family Life Education 