Parenting with Attitude
People often talk about how the kids of today have a bad attitude. In fact we think that the parents have the faulty attitude!
We are not talking about intent or love for their child. Ask almost any parent and they'll tell you they want to do a good job raising their child. Where it so often goes astray are faulty attitudes in how to effectively parent.
There're many resources of helpful parenting strategies but without the right attitude, these are ineffective.
It's common for parents to come to us and say that they've tried everything, but nothing has worked with their kids.
What we've noticed with these parents is that some 'fine tuning' of beliefs and expectations was often the answer.
In today's fast paced society we tend to fall into the mindset that strategies need to be fast and effective, a bit like taking soluble aspirin. Having a realistic timeframe is important for successful change. We have to give strategies time to work.
Another common difficulty is the types of relationship parents try to have with their children. Parents often start at the point of trying to establish a friendship between equals. Wrong!
Parents need to establish a solid parent-child relationship with clear boundaries, respect for self and others and self-responsibility.
It's doesn't mean there can't be fun, in fact it's essential. Parents can also get caught up in the rules and consequences. It's all about balance. There needs to be fun and structure in any parent -child relationship.
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