As parents I am the first to admit parenting can sometime be a struggle. Having young children can be a daily struggle, especially if your children isn’t behaving very well. Even the most nurturing and patient parents can sometimes lose their cool when facing a defiant child, after all we have all been there!
Recently I shared with you how I had struggled to find a way to mange Jacob’s behaviour and it has been working well so I have popped together some further information on positive parenting below.
What is Positive Parenting?
Instead of choosing rewards for good behaviour or punishment for negative choices, positive parenting is about truly listening to your children. This doesn’t mean that you have to say yes to everything that your child asks of you. Positive parenting is very simply, a way to encourage your child to make positive behaviour choices and calmly explain your expectations to your child so they know what they are expected to do.
Positive Parenting Techniques
- Positive rather than negative – Positive parenting is more so a mindset than it is a method and emphasises positive guidance. Harsh parenting styles tend to go against building a strong bond, so it’s important to remain positive and direct in a softer and kind manner.
- Positive discipline rather than punishment – Instead of taking away video games for a week as a result of bad choices, when you are choosing positive parenting, you work with your child to find out why the issue took place and what should happen next. This type of discipline puts the focus more on the behaviour of the child and how they can improve it instead of what the parents think of the choice.
- Take one on one time daily – Parents should make sure that they are dedicating time each day for their kids. During this time, the parents should be fully present, participating in an activity that their child wants to do. This has a hefty pay off for parents, the time invested is paid back 10-fold in fewer power struggles and more cooperative behaviour.
- Model good behaviour – Children are more likely to imitate the way we behave rather than follow the words we speak. It is important to stay positive in those tough moments so that they will too. We recently saw this with Jacob when he began finger pointing and raising his voice. I was a shocker to see and we are now more determined than ever to never parent that way again.
Positive parenting can be an effective technique when it comes to raising happy kids and If I am honest happier parents too. I like that we explain things and try to listen to the kids more. Don’t get me wrong children get frustrated and things happen but taking the more positive approach has helped us.
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