To Be Conscious, by definition, means "to be aware and responsive to the environment and to have knowledge of something". By its very definition we find 3 important words (response, knowledge, awareness,) that will allow me to develop my article to define for you the meaning of guiding your children with conscious parenting:
Response:
Imagine you are faced with a chaotic and stressful situation with your children. You may react by shouting, you may be blinded by panic, or you may prefer not to be overbearing and suppress your feelings because you are afraid of what your children will think of you. You automatically have an unthinking response because your brain has been programmed to act and respond in a certain way to certain events or situations. And that is reflected in the way you treat your children, but just because your neural pathways are set up doesn't mean you can't define your future behaviors—you can. Did you know that? If you didn't know, you now have the knowledge to reflect on how you can become more aware the next time you have to respond to a stressful situation with your children.
Knowledge:
No one gave us a guide to raise our children in the best possible way and have the perfect parenting. This is something we learned from experience, from failures and trials, from mistakes, but we did not study. However, I ask you the following question: Why do we study to get our professional degree, or get information through YouTube to make a tasty meal or to know how to do our make-up, or how to build a table? And we also buy the necessary tools to take care of our body and beauty and yet we don't study to be parents! Parenting should be more important knowing that the way we educate our children determines all aspects of their future life. That is why it is important to learn, to be educated and to have the right tools to increase our knowledge. Knowledge takes us away from ignorance and brings us closer to the next point: Awareness.
Awareness:
When we stop being ignorant about a subject and become more aware of our behaviors, the behaviors and actions we have been acting with for years naturally, determined by the set of beliefs and actions that we have automatically programmed as parents and cannot control, will begin to transform into conscious and emotionally intelligent decisions when raising our children.
In conclusion, conscious parenting means having a parent-child relationship and philosophy that encourages you to make conscious and emotionally intelligent decisions when raising your children, with the aim of developing your family's potential and thrive your family. This is possible through the process of becoming aware of what your reactions are in order to make the conscious decision to respond to your children's behaviour rather than reacting to them. To do such a big task you have multiple tools and resources that I can bring to you with THE THRIVING FAMILIES PROGRAMME.
Why you should implement it in your life?
Firstly, it will benefit the family, both you and your children, and these are changes you will be able to see; in fact, research indicates that conversations with your child from a young age will help them improve cognitive skills and reasoning.
But more than that, implementing a mindful parenting relationship in your life will mean improving your communication and connection with your children; you will become a mindful parent and therefore reduce your stress levels, gain more emotional intelligence, and therefore more control and self-awareness, plus many more benefits. Investing your time in learning about mindful parenting and knowing the right tools will allow you to have a healthier and happier life, mainly with yourself, your children, and your home, and as a result, you will see it reflected in improvements in other areas of your life.
If you want to know in detail all the benefits of mindful parenting, don't miss our next blogs!
Thank you for reading
With love, Dr. Waad Masoud.