Topic of the week
Listening
To pay attention and be genuinely interested in understanding what the other person is thinking, feeling, wanting or what the message means.
As I am sitting down to write this post I feel like I am not being a very good parent lately. The Girl has been particularly whiny and this has not been garnering the best from me. Of course she is three and I should know better, but even though I really do know better, I am letting it get to me. Perfect time for the parenting reminder to listen!
While I was hopping around the internet and looking for some inspiration, since I was gifted with an unexpected nap, I ran across Kristen of Motherhood Uncensored who is in the middle of her Be a Better Parent Challenge. Excellent! Since I rightly or not attribute my girls bad behavior to my parental failings this was just what I needed to see! And challenge number one on the list is to be present with your kids, which as I see it is an extension of Listening!
I love the whole idea of this be a better parent challenge! As of today, Kristen is up to Day number 9 of the month long project - which is "find your triggers" in which she says - "The ability to figure out what sends you off the deep end and into the abyss of parenting madness is the first step in keeping those outbursts to a minimum."
I know I am less likely to Listen to my girl if I feel time pressure, not enough time to pick up the house, finish a blog post or make dinner etc. Also if I'm tired or hungry, my mood can be as cranky as hers! I'm sure there are more... I'm going to mull on it a bit. I can really see that if I planned a bit I could avoid a lot stress and hopefully give my girl the experience of my full attention on a more regular basis.
How about you? What triggers keep you from being fully present? Any tips or tricks about how to be a better listener? Let me know here in a comment or link up any posts you think are relevant!
This Listening resource linky will be live in my sidebar all week!
Next Post: Wordless Wednesday
My Thirteen Virtues of Great Parenting are:
Fun, Discipline, Creativity, Love, Wonder, Listening, Curiosity,Compassion,
Trust, Acceptance, Empowerment, Humility and Flexibility
This week is all about Listening. Next week 's topic is Curiosity.
