Welcome

Join me in my daily walk through the joys and struggles of parenthood. Share a word of encouragement or be encouraged. Cry a little, laugh a lot, but know it is all in divine order.

Monday, April 24, 2017

Muffins with Mom – Parenting blueprint – 3 tips for effective parenting



“Mama, did you see that tackle I made?”

“Did you see me shake that boy when I scored that lay-up?”

Over the years there have been many cheers from the 50 yard line, shouts from gymnasium bleachers and countless end of season banquets. And there have been days where parenting was less than glamorous.  Is there a parenting blueprint to guide us through the jungle of parenthood?

I haven’t discovered a parenting blueprint, but I have come up with three tips that I’ve found effective for a parenting toolkit.

1.      Find Balance – often as parents we believe we have to always put our children first, to the point of not taking care of ourselves. In order to be healthy and experience less stress we must have balance. Take care of the children, but also find something that you like to do and do it. Don’t think you have to wait until the children grow up.

2.      Seek parenting resources – participate in a play group if you have younger children. If you have teens, share your experiences with other parents of teens. You will discover that you are not the only parent with a teen you have to beg to clean his room, wash the dishes or do homework.

3.      Support your child’s interests – my boys have been involved with sports from the time of pre-school soccer, little league football, AAU sports and high school sports. My younger son (high school senior) added rugby to his list of sports last year. I don’t know anything about rugby, but when he runs with the ball, I’m right there cheering for him and the team.

Below are a couple of recent videos of my time on the sidelines of sporting events.

Rugby - Washtenaw Dark Army


High School Track Meet


What tips would you add in developing a parenting blueprint?

No comments:

Post a Comment