When parenting, you need compassion for yourself because this is a 24/7 job and you are going to make mistakes. No matter how skilled you are in the other 4 C’s. And that’s ok!
Your children need lots of patience and understanding, too. Each child is unique and they need different help from us based on their personalities, ages/stages and individual or special needs.
Every child is different and needs you to be sensitive to what makes them unique and special. Every person has strengths and areas for improvement. Often our greatest strengths mirror our areas for growth!
Children evolve over time and we need to tune in, understand that they are growing and changing, and encourage them to be who they are.
You need time for self-care, and to cut yourself some slack when interactions don’t go as planned! Grace is a huge key here. Everything is harder when you are tired or overwhelmed.
You need to know that the only person you can truly control is YOU. You can influence others, but ultimately everyone acts as they see fit (including your co-parent). You can’t tell someone else how to feel and you are never going to be able to crawl into their heads and hearts to know their true motivations.
Since you can only control yourself and your actions, it is important to be aware of that space between stimulus and reaction. Intentionality helps us to take the pause and react in a meaningful way instead of a knee-jerk way.
The ability to take the pause is directly influenced by how you are caring for yourself and how much practice you have in this aspect of mindfulness.
If you are missing compassion for yourself, your partner or your kids, consider shooting me an email or reaching out for a 30-minute consult (use the links below). I can probably share a quick tip or trick to help you find some grace for yourself and the people you love.
