being intentionally disobedient. They aren’t being manipulative. They aren’t plotting our demise. They are children. They don’t really understand much of anything, to be frank. We have to teach them, not punish them. In Conscious Parenting, we allow for logical and natural consequences. Don’t worry, I’ll have more on that in subsequent posts.
No Hitting/Spanking/Yelling
Do I even need to explain? If you’re curious read the Harvard study about the effects of spanking on the brain here.
Healing Your Own Traumas
Much of what we do as parents, even the stuff we didn’t like as children, is learned behavior. We repeat it because we often think, “I turned out fine.” In truth, many of us have an inaccurate understanding of trauma, and therefore have a hard time acknowledging that our parents decisions, did, in fact, have lasting impact on the way we behave. You do not have to be rocking in the corner wearing a straight jacket to be someone living with trauma. In Conscious Parenting, we must be willing to unpack and heal our traumas, otherwise, we will be bound to repeat and reinforce generational curses.
Accountability
Obviously, we’re human beings so falling short will come with the territory. The key to “getting this right” is to not expect to “get it right,” but to simply try to do a better job than our parents did. And when we mess up, we hold ourselves accountable and apologize.
If you’ve read this far, I encourage you to read The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read to understand more about why we parent this way and why you should join the Conscious Parenting Movement.
This article was originally published on Consciously Lisa