Often times, I am asked by clients or other parents for parenting tips. These are the parenting tips that I share most often and use with my own children. Here are my top three parenting tips for April!
Tip 1: Consistency Is Key 
This is my first parenting tip. When it comes to our relationships with our children, being consistent with what we say and our behavior is huge. This helps our children develop boundaries and learn limits. This means that I am working with my partner to ensure that we are on the same page with a particular rule or expectation. Basically, we are on the same team. For example, a family rule in our house is that we brush teeth every night after taking a bath. Our children have learned to expect this as part of the nighttime routine whether they are with me, my husband, or both of us.
The Parenting Tip Takeaway: Say what you mean and mean what you say.
Tip 2: Positive Responses Change Behavior 
This is my second parenting tip. As a parent, it is very easy to fall into the trap of constantly saying to my children, “no, don’t, or stop!”. I gotta tell you it’s exhausting always trying to correct misbehavior. The issue with this parenting technique is that we are telling our children what NOT to do. This means we are not teaching them anything to do instead of the behavior we are correcting. For example, if I say to my child, “no whining,” he may stop whining for the moment. However, he still has a need that he is trying to express to me. I haven’t told him how to express himself to me. A better response would be, “ take a deep breath and use your big boy words.”
The Parenting Tip Takeawy: When you talk to your child, tell them what to do (versus what NOT to do).
Tip 3: Model Your Feelings & How You Solve Problems 
This is my third parenting tip. Parents are the BEST teachers for their children. (Yes, I’m talking about you!). We can be models for our children. Here’s an example from my life, I am a HUGE coffee drinker. If we are having breakfast one morning and I accidentally spilled my cup of coffee, I would be upset. Here’s how I could respond: “Oh no! Mommy spilled her coffee on the ground. This makes me so upset because I was really looking forward to drinking my coffee. I can tell that I feel upset because I can feel my heart beating in my chest really fast and I want to yell because I feel upset. But—you know what I can do? I can clean up this mess and make a new cup of coffee. I am so glad that I didn’t break the coffee mug or spill coffee on you (speaking to my son). Mommy was rushing to get everything ready for breakfast and had an accident. It’s okay to have accidents. I’m not going to let this upset me all day. I am going to take a deep breath (or five) and make a new cup of coffee. I am going to have a great day today! Are you going to have a great day today? I think you are!”
The Parenting Tip Takeaway: Children learn from observing our behavior and will model their behavior after ours.
Putting It Together
Parents, you know your children the best. I’m sharing three parenting tips with you today. However, it can be hard to change our own behavior.
My Parenting Tip Challenge: Put one of these tips in place right now with your children.
Which of these tips do you think you’ll try with your kiddos this week? Need help with your parenting toolkit? Please contact me. I’m here to help!
