Parenting Inspiration

Every parent can develop better parenting skills through a cycle of planning, action and reflection. You have a problem, you find a possible solution, you try it out, and you reflect to see what worked or didn’t work. The cycle can continue or be cut short, depending on your choice about how to embrace or reject it.

Having problems does not make you a bad parent; they are a natural and inescapable part of family life. Of course, that doesn’t mean it is easy to deal with them. In order to maintain a positive attitude, it is important to be in a “learning mode” where we see challenges not as failure or weakness but as opportunities for growth.

As we examine our own behaviours and find better ways to do things, we are able to model and teach our children what we learn. The articles featured below will share ways you can grow as a parent and/or help your children grow as well.

Common themes in the articles include:

~ fostering relationships based on unconditional love and mutual respect

~ building character through life experiences, intentional activities and discussions, and thoughtful reflection

~ developing emotional intelligence

~ refining communication skills

~ actively engaging in reflection so we can understand, process and build on our experiences

Browse the articles:

Phrases we need to STOP saying to our girls

This morning during school drop off I overheard a short conversation between two parents about the younger sister of a girl in my son’s school, who was probably about four years old. She had fallen off her scooter and scraped her face, and someone was kindly inquiring about what had happened. After explaining the event, the parent of the… {read more}

How to Help Kids Explore the World

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert Some of the most meaningful memories of my life have been made while traveling. I studied abroad for a semester in Ghana during university, spent two summers doing research in Singapore, undertook my honours thesis research in Papua… {read more}

How to Create Family Rules that Work

In my ebook How to Build Character at Home I discuss creating family rules that reflect your values. Creating our family rules (kindly tongue, gentle hands, and respect the environment) has probably been one of the best parenting decisions we ever made. Why? Because each family member knows what is expected of them, and these… {read more}

Kids’ Emotions are Real, Too

Children may be small, but they are still people. And their feelings deserve respect. When my three month old baby cries in the carseat because she is tired and wants to be held, that is real frustration. When my four year old shouts because he wants another cookie, that is real anger. When my six year old… {read more}

We Don’t Do “Chores”… We Do “Family Service” Instead

Over the past few months, my husband and I have been concentrating on helping the kids become more involved in household duties. At some point we simply realised that they were perfectly capable of doing more around the house and we figured giving them some tasks would do a number of things including: -Foster more personal… {read more}

Recipe for the Perfect Weekend with Young Kids

Sometimes when the weekend rolls around I briefly panic wondering we’re going to do. Shouldn’t I be taking my kids to museums for educational experiences? What about making memories in theme parks, doing fancy craft activities, or going on road trips? Then I remind myself that, while I don’t think it’s wrong to do any of… {read more}

50 Ways to Connect with Sons (Through Activities Mama Enjoys, Too)

It’s been a while since I wrote this post about ways to embrace being a mother of only boys. In fact, I even have a daughter now. However point #2 from that post about the importance of finding activities to do with my sons that we both enjoy is still very pertinent to my life. Because throwing paper planes… {read more}

How to Help Young Children with Anxiety

Imagine how confronting many everyday experiences may be to children. Something as simple as visiting a grocery store can be quite overwhelming to little ones. It’s loud. It’s cold. They can’t touch things they want to or run around. Their parents are distracted finding what they need, and basically ignore them. Random strangers keep looking at them – sometimes waving, smiling, and… {read more}

Building Family Unity with a New Baby in the House

Adding a new family member is a big change for everyone at home. Instead of only addressing the “problems” that come up, it can also be useful to focus on building unity. It seems obvious that older siblings might crave more attention when a new baby is born, however after being awake all night, feeling groggy… {read more}

15+ Ways to Prepare Young Children for a New Baby

One of the most enjoyable parts of pregnancy for me has been preparing my children for their new sibling. It is so fun to hear what they say, find out what questions they have, and watch the anticipation grow! In this instalment of my series Tips for Families Expecting a New Baby, I will be sharing ways I… {read more}

5 Fun Ways to Teach Children Responsible Eating Habits

Making healthy food choices is an important skill for kids to learn early in life. Modelling is probably the most effective way to teach our kids to eat a well-balanced diet, but there are many other ways to help them learn more about responsible eating habits as well. I would like my children to develop a… {read more}

10 Easy Screen Free Activities

After several months of morning sickness, four weeks of international travel, and some pretty intense work load overwhelm, I was feeling very low on energy to prepare activities for my kids. We were watching DVDs more often than ever before and yet I still felt exhausted. Yes the kids naturally enjoyed lots of free play – as kids do… {read more}

Create Your Own Quiet Time Basket

When I was expecting my second child, I read somewhere that it would be useful to have a basket of toys near your nursing chair – so that the older child had some special things to play with while you were busy feeding the new baby. Since then, I have made various versions of a Quiet Time Basket… {read more}

How to Make Your Own Boo Boo Basket

Bumps and bruises are just a part of life. To children, however, they can be a really, really big deal. In general my kids aren’t very fussy after falls or tiny scrapes. I have always had the rule that if it’s not bleeding, it does not need a bandaid. However that does not mean I… {read more}

Growing From Motherhood: A Series of Stories from Mothers Sharing Their Challenges

I capture their every movement, their every shadow, in the endless crevices of my heart. Because I am a mother – and I can do nothing less than love my children with my entire being. I am that mom behind the wheel, in front of the stove, under a mountain of laundry, and on top of the world… {read more}

Connecting with Positive Role Models in Storybooks

This year is our family’s first time celebrating Book Week here in Australia. Along with the rest of the school my son’s prep (kindergarten) class was asked to dress up as a favourite character for a parade, so we have been discussing “who to be” for a few weeks. After going over possible costumes for numerous characters,… {read more}

5 Ways to Nurture Compassion in Little Boys

I want my boys to be compassionate towards those around them – those in their family, those in their class or in their work place, and also those in the community that they do not know personally. This list may be relevant to girls, as well, but as a mother of boys I find the… {read more}

5 Ways to Encourage Positive Sibling Relationships

Mediating conflict between my kids is, I admit, one of the most difficult parts of parenting for me at this stage in my journey as a mother. Since my boys are only 5 and (almost) 3 years old, I still need to be there much of the time to guide them through challenges but I… {read more}

50 Everyday Play Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers (Free Printable)

My oldest just started school and I have been finding it a bit strange with just me and my almost-three-year-old in the house. I haven’t been used to so much one-on-one time with him and I will admit I’ve been a bit stuck for ideas of what to do! After considering the reason for this,… {read more}

10 Lessons for My Sons to Learn to Respect Women

A few months ago I shared a post with 10 ways to embrace being a mother of boys, and a very thoughtful reader pointed out that as a mother of boys I have a great opportunity (and responsibility!) to uphold equality through educating my sons. Although I did not mention this point in my article,… {read more}