December 30, 2022
As we ring in the new year, we reflect on our behaviors and habits in each facet of our lives. New Year’s resolutions, big or small, are a fantastic way to hold ourselves accountable for our growth as people. For most, resolutions showcase physical fitness, diet, finances, or hobbies. While hitting the gym and reading each day are excellent resolutions to make for yourself, far too many of us neglect goal-setting within the most important part of our lives- our family. To lack ambition in this precious aspect of life is to do yourself, and your loved ones, a disservice. Pair this with the most common mistake made when creating resolutions; not writing down the steps to make a goal manageable, and thus achievable. Knowing what you want is not enough to bring a desire to fruition, you must also know how. With a lack of direction, the longevity of your success is unlikely. Let this article serve as a guide to my amazing, ambitious parents who aspire to get the most out of parenthood. Here we will explore some of the key components of successful parenting, and how to incorporate them into the new year, as well as the new you!
Stress management
Your stress impacts everything. Your health, physical, and mental. Your reactions. You’re less patient, less empathetic stress makes it hard to make decisions (have you had trouble making decisions lately?) Stress impacts our ability to problem solve. It leads to a short fuse, causing us to have surprising blowups. (Do you find yourself quick to anger lately or yelling more?) All of these reactions can be caused by stress, and it’s working against you. Stress is making your life harder and more uncomfortable. Plus, you’re modeling stress to your kids. Your kids are learning from you. They can feel the stress and they react to it. And in fact, they are likely to model our stress. All of this simply adds to the negative pattern, and as even more stress. And the cycle grows.
Make this year the year that you take control of your stress, and your stressors. Gain tools to help you understand your triggers and tools to support your ability to navigate them learn calming skills. You can use and model in front of your kids, so they can navigate stress in a healthy manner to reduce your blowups, and learn ways to take back control, so you can remain confident and in charge without the overload.
Understand your parenting goals
I encourage you to ask yourself the following: What do you want parenting to look like? Do you want to emulate your parents? Or parent the exact opposite? Maybe a little bit of both? Perhaps you’re not sure.
What kind of parent do you want to be? What values do you want to pass on to your kids? Where are you struggling and what would you like to do about it? Try to visualize what parenting looks like to you when creating your resolutions.
Parenting tools
We’ve all heard it before- kids don’t come with a manual. However, our kids need us to have some basic tools to help ensure their success now, and into the future. Teens and toddlers, alike, turn to us for security, love, guidance, and life lessons
Every parent can benefit from parenting support and knowledge. What works for our parents doesn’t necessarily hold up today. Not to mention we now have plenty of research and insight into what parenting methods work and what methods can have long lasting effects. In addition, times are hard. Our children’s generation is certainly not like our parents’. We are connected across the globe 24/7 with news, stories, shopping and ads and the ability (and pressure) to work at all hours. Our levels of stress and anxiety or at all time highs. And our kids access is also 24/7.
There’s no reason you can’t access tools for success. Even more exciting is that the best parenting tools are not difficult, because the best parenting tools are natural, simplistic, and based on real life lessons.
Behavior management and discipline tools
One of the biggest issues parents struggle with is navigating behavioral issues and discipline. It could be difficult to determine how to support or improve your children’s behavior, reduce negative behavior, and set effective and reasonable consequences that work. All of this can greatly add to your stress levels which we have already discovered makes life more difficult all the way around. Gaining tools to help you understand, navigate and manage your children’s behavior can be the difference between successful parenting from now and well into your children’s adulthood. Managing your kids behavior isn’t as difficult as it appears once you have the right tools and an understanding of successful discipline support.
Setting your family’s foundation
Everything you do or don’t do related to parenting has an impact on your kids. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a good or bad impact. It simply is. You are your kids number one role, model and leader, selling your families. Creating a solid, healthy foundation doesn’t have to be stressful, overwhelming, or feel like an impossible feat. Simply decide what you want your foundation to look like based on your values, and what is most important to you. Follow these steps for your New Year’s parenting resolution. Choose a good parenting program that provides natural simplistic tools and support for both you and for your kids.
With the right insight and guidance, you can have immediate success without a significant amount of effort! And unlike other New Year’s resolutions, this one can lead to a much easier way of living for your entire family without any more energy than you’re probably already spending. Parenting doesn’t have to be hard, to be beautiful.
If youre struggling to find the right resources for the task of being the parent you want to be, look no further. I offer a wide variety of courses and kits that are guaranteed to guide and support all parents. Browse my website for more information on the most effective ways to parent. For more tips and tricks, follow me on Instagram and Facebook.
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Hey There, I’m Susan!
I’m a Certified Family Life Educator, Parent Coach & Course Creator, wife & mother of 3 incredible humans. I know all about the challenges parents struggle with as we juggle multiple hats and busy lives.
I know because I’ve lived it myself.
You Are Not Alone In Your Parenting Journey.
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