“Being a parent is a full time job and it includes a lot of sacrifice.  And most people do it blind.”

 – Rodrigo Garcia Platas

 

Parenting is one of the most important jobs on this planet.

It’s amazing how diverse the approach of parenting can be between different cultures, genders, environments, etc.

Especially in today’s society, there are many opinions on the “right” way to parent.

This can make it confusing to understand how to be the best parent you can possibly be.

Here is some insight on what we’ve found to be most effective in grooming our youth to be the best they can possibly be.

 

Related Posts:

 

Adaptability and How it can Change your Life

Mastering the 6 Most Important Areas of Your Life: A Systemic Approach

What is Self-Awareness and How Can You Improve It?

 

 

We asked MITT Trainer Rodrigo Garcia Platas his take on common parenting pitfalls.  Of course our minds were blown!

 

Take your Children’s Vocabulary at face value

 

There comes a day in every parent’s life when their child ask them, “What is (blank)?”

Sometimes they question is light and playful while other times it catches a parent off guard.

Of course there are many responses you can give your child based on how old they are and the context in which the question was asked.

Before responding, ask yourself this,

 

“Is my child ready to hear this?”

 

If your answer is yes, then by all means proceed in the way you best see fit.

However, if your answer is no then follow this line of questioning,

 

“What do you mean baby?”

“Can you explain that a little more?”

 

Especially if your child is at a young age, you’re going to realize they have no idea what they are talking about.

Which can feel like a sigh of relief is some cases!

Regardless if your child has a firm understanding or not, always end these conversations with giving them confidence and certainty.

Do not expose their brain to things that they simply are not ready to process in this moment.

 

 

 

Understand the Stage of Development your Child is in

 

As a parent, it can be difficult to navigate how to grow with your child.

For example,

Where spoon feeding a 6 month old infant in a high chair is effective, the same process wouldn’t be effective for a 16 year old.

Though this is an obvious example, most times the lines aren’t clearly illustrated like this.

Be ready to re-invent yourself as your child gets older to accommodate what would best support them at any given stage in their life.

Remember, your child is constantly evolving.  Your parenting will have to as well in order to keep up.

 

 

Stop Glorifying What they Do

 

This one in particular will blow your mind.

It’s certain that you want to hype your child up as much as humanly possible so that they can grow up to be confident adults.

As a result, it’s common to glorify everything they do and create to make them feel special.

You may hang their drawings up on the fridge or brag to friends and family about their first major accomplishment in life.

Although the intention is heartfelt, the delivery isn’t effective for your child’s long term self-esteem.

 

Rather than acknowledge them for what they did, acknowledge them for who they had to be to create that result.

 

As for the drawing on the fridge example, acknowledge them for their creativity and self-expression rather than the drawing itself.

This ensures that your child never collapses the love they receive based on what they did but instead who they are as a person.

Despite the inevitable highs and lows in life, your child will have the best chance to stay confident through it all with this practice.

 

 

Parenting Mastery

 

Being a parent is no easy task and it takes a new level of commitment for most people.

As long as you are open to learning there is no reason why you cannot become the best parent you can possibly be!

If you’d like to improve your parenting, we invite you to take our next Parenting Workshop with Rodrigo Garcia Platas.