Cause and effect

"To look at children's behaviour without looking at how their relationships feel to them is like trying to understand the weather without understanding climate or like trying to understand surf without understanding currents and winds".

Robin Grille, Heart to Heart Parenting.

There is an incalculable amount of parenting advice on discipline, behaviour management and the like, but rarely do they take in consideration the context in which the child finds himself. Have you ever tried to put yourself in your child's shoes, and imagine having you as a parent, living the same family dynamics, having the same set of skills and tendencies as your child, their strengths, their rhythms, their desires, their fears and their needs?

Only when we look at our child in his totality can we truly begin to connect and support him/her during emotionally charged moments, rather then trying to quickly find a fix for that behaviour that irritates us, frustrates us, annoys us! It is not about a battle of the wills, since inevitably the adult, being the older and stronger one of the two, will win. It is about understanding and connecting. For this to occur, one needs to listen. Are you ready to listen? Are you ready to non-judgementally accept your child for who he/she is?