Taking Responsibility

Food for thought.

When you have a plant in your home that is dying, you can see the obvious signs that it isn't being taken care of. Do you blame the plant? Get cranky with it for not growing or blossoming? Or do you feed it? Water it? Put it out in the sun? Research what to do for that particular species and give it what it needs to grow.

It comes as common sense to take responsibility for our plants when they aren't developing how they should. However, when it comes to our children we are so quick to blame them when they do something wrong. How often do you hear parents say, "Johnny is so naughty, he is just driving me crazy this afternoon", "Megan is so defiant! What am I going to do with her?"

So... what do we need to do?

As parents/caregivers the first thing we need to do is take responsibility for our child's behaviour. It is one of the most empowering things we can experience when we realise that the choices we make and how we treat our children has a direct impact on the way they behave.

When we take responsibility for our children, love them, nurture them and give them what they need, when they need it we will see results. Just as we would with a plant in our home.

How does Conscious Parenting come in?

When we consciously parent our children we let go of all attachments, ego and expectations. We take responsibility and focus on our own language, behaviour and self regulation. When we do the work on ourselves we can more readily show up for our children. You're probably wondering "How do I do that?"

How to Self Regulate

1. Create a space that is yours.

2. It okay to ask for help. Once upon a time it took a village to raise children.

3. Noticing and naming different feelings that come up and what may be triggering them.

4. Surrendering to the emotion, witnessing it and becoming the observer without reacting

5. Practising Mindfulness.

• Deep breathing

• Avoid doing too many things at once

• Go for a walk

• Journal