Lifelong Learning

I consider myself to be a new mom; I'm definitely still green and raw when it comes to real deal parenting. I feel like I've barely wrapped my head around how to parent a newborn which is SO physical (feeding, sleeping, changing, bathing,etc) and now we've headed into the behavioral and emotional parenting aspects of our sweet toddler. 

I grew up in a home where I literally never heard my mother yell or even raise her voice. I never knew how difficult that must have been for her until I had a toddler. Sometimes they just push all the right buttons in just the right ways, don't they? But I have promised myself that I will not be a yelling mom because I am so grateful to my calm and kind mother who showed me how effective gentle parenting can be. She was not a push over by any means, we knew when she meant business. And it was usually when she was speaking quietly to us that we were the most afraid. =)

Mason is really rather well-behaved for a two year old. But he's still a two year old, so we have our episodes and challenges on a daily basis. Our usual method of "discipline" has been timeout, the traditional sit on the stairs for two minutes (because he's two) kind of thing. I always have a little discussion with him after the timer has gone off about why he was put on timeout. But I somehow feel like it's just not allowing me to teach him in the way that I want. It's more like getting him out of my hair for a couple minutes rather than helping him learn to behave a different way.

I finally sat myself down to research some alternative methods to timeout. I came across this fabulous blog called The Hippie Housewife. I've barely delved into the material that she has, but I love her already. We're obviously planning on tailoring these ideas to fit our family and each individual child. But I can't wait to implement her suggestions.

 

She says: " The purpose of our parenting should be problem-solving and teaching, not behaviour-training through consequences or punishments."

I think this perfectly sums up the approach I've been searching for. So tonight we had a Family Home Evening lesson on her post called "Gentle Discipline Basics: Ten Alternatives to Timeout". 

We used this in conjunction with Rosemary Wixom's talk from April General Conference titled "The Words We Speak." I am in love with this talk and highly recommend reading and re-reading it. She has such a powerful message.

I've been seeking to create a more peacful environment in our home and also really loved Elder Scott's talk "For Peace at Home". Another wonderful reminder that we should approach parenting in a Christ-like and loving manner.

I'm grateful to have access to so many resources that allow me to learn and grow as a parent. I definitely need all the help I can get! =)