Parenting Guidelines For Easier Parenting
Raising children in a modern world can be difficult, especially when it comes to choosing which set of parenting guidelines to follow.
There are many different styles of parenting, ranging from authoritative, to permissive and everything in between.
So how do you raise a well-rounded child in a world with information overload, advertising, toxins, stress and demands that previous generations never had to face, while still keeping your own sanity? The answer is to go with what our bodies and minds naturally respond well to.
We have only been living this way, with agriculture and 'modern' society for about the last 10,000 years.
Before that we were hunter-gatherers, living successfully in a much different way for 100's of thousands of years.
Now, I don't suggest we go back to being hunter-gatherers as that would be an extremely hard thing to do, but what I do suggest is that we look at how we are dealing with our children and whether there are ways we can use our natural tendencies to actually make things easier on our minds and bodies while living in a modern world.
For example, how many parents struggle with a lack of sleep in the early days of parenting? Why do we make things so difficult on ourselves by trying to "train" babies to sleep apart from us when natural instinct means they want to be close to us, to keep themselves safe from danger? The family bed, or co-sleeping as it is often called, can help everyone get a better night's sleep and help mother and baby have an easier time breastfeeding during the night.
Following safe guidelines for co-sleeping with baby - no loose blankets, baby dressed in light clothing to prevent overheating, parents have not been taking any medication, drugs or alcohol - can lead to a very happy, easy sleeping situation.
Another example of going against our instincts and natural behaviours is the current obsession with the latest and greatest gadgets and toys designed for babies.
Clever marketing will have you believe that these are essential for raising smart children, but they are actually just replacements for real life learning opportunities.
Children learn so fast without any direction...
just by following examples.
Think about how a child learns to walk or talk.
It's all about copying parents and others around them.
It is the same for learning other things in life.
Allowing your children to take part in activities with you and learn from you is far better than any parent-replacing DVD that promises the best IQ while disregarding real life learning experiences.
It also saves you money and gives you more ways to bond with your child that will enhance their learning.
To develop a style of parenting that comes more naturally and deepens the joy you get from family life continue to ask yourself - Why am I trying to do things this way? Is there a good reason? Oftentimes you will find there is no reason to follow the parenting guidelines that so many people follow just because they think they should!
There are many different styles of parenting, ranging from authoritative, to permissive and everything in between.
So how do you raise a well-rounded child in a world with information overload, advertising, toxins, stress and demands that previous generations never had to face, while still keeping your own sanity? The answer is to go with what our bodies and minds naturally respond well to.
We have only been living this way, with agriculture and 'modern' society for about the last 10,000 years.
Before that we were hunter-gatherers, living successfully in a much different way for 100's of thousands of years.
Now, I don't suggest we go back to being hunter-gatherers as that would be an extremely hard thing to do, but what I do suggest is that we look at how we are dealing with our children and whether there are ways we can use our natural tendencies to actually make things easier on our minds and bodies while living in a modern world.
For example, how many parents struggle with a lack of sleep in the early days of parenting? Why do we make things so difficult on ourselves by trying to "train" babies to sleep apart from us when natural instinct means they want to be close to us, to keep themselves safe from danger? The family bed, or co-sleeping as it is often called, can help everyone get a better night's sleep and help mother and baby have an easier time breastfeeding during the night.
Following safe guidelines for co-sleeping with baby - no loose blankets, baby dressed in light clothing to prevent overheating, parents have not been taking any medication, drugs or alcohol - can lead to a very happy, easy sleeping situation.
Another example of going against our instincts and natural behaviours is the current obsession with the latest and greatest gadgets and toys designed for babies.
Clever marketing will have you believe that these are essential for raising smart children, but they are actually just replacements for real life learning opportunities.
Children learn so fast without any direction...
just by following examples.
Think about how a child learns to walk or talk.
It's all about copying parents and others around them.
It is the same for learning other things in life.
Allowing your children to take part in activities with you and learn from you is far better than any parent-replacing DVD that promises the best IQ while disregarding real life learning experiences.
It also saves you money and gives you more ways to bond with your child that will enhance their learning.
To develop a style of parenting that comes more naturally and deepens the joy you get from family life continue to ask yourself - Why am I trying to do things this way? Is there a good reason? Oftentimes you will find there is no reason to follow the parenting guidelines that so many people follow just because they think they should!
Source...