As a mother of a 2 year old, I have experienced many magical moments with my daughter. But this stage of parenting can also be confusing and overwhelming. For guidance, I asked 10 of her mothers to share their most returned pearls of wisdom…
“If you can’t get out of there, get out into the that. For me, that meant creating a chicken nugget tasting bar instead of emphasizing my kid’s picky palates. When we take a bath, we are drenched. Basically, babies and toddlers are ridiculous! concentrate! “— Kathleen Donahoe
“When my kids were little, I tried to remember that these were their real, real lives. was lived in small bodies and young consciousness, which helped me treat them respectfully – or at least tried to do so.— Catherine Newman
“I am part of Color family parenting group, and often share how our culture respects and prioritizes elders. She has given us permission and clarity to choose who we invite into our child’s life and who we listen to for advice as new parents. — Skiye Patel
“We were stumped by our classmate’s birthday party presents and our parents didn’t want a lot of junk. So now my daughter draws handmade cards and tapes ten or twenty dollar bills. Kids feel so powerful when they have cash and honestly it kills.. – Lucy Kalanithi
“Embracing the concept of ‘fed is best’ saved my relationship with my first baby, who was born with a complicated congenital heart condition and became dependent on tube feeding for two years.” I needed formula (and its feeding tubes) to keep me alive, and I had to deal with all kinds of feelings of failure. , I wanted to get my body back, so I switched to formula after a few months. Understanding that both of our needs are important and that there is no such thing as a “failure” when a baby is fed and loved has made me a better, happier mother. , that’s a concept I still use now that they’re older. Pancakes for dinner again? Commonwealth is the best.”— Virginia Saul Smith
“I always have my lovey-dovey doubles with me. It’s a good idea to insure them in case you lose them in the park or leave them on the bus.” — Jenny Rosenstruk
“Ask for help. Sometimes I feel pressured to figure things out on my own. But raising children in a community is actually good and natural for us as humans.” liked to read about Currajo village in Braziltheir children actually call multiple women’inch,” or mother, so beautiful. If others are willing to lend a hand, let them. — Valerie Metz
“I predict the three R’s: Rupture, Repair, and Regulate. We are human, so ruptures will happen. You’ll let your kids down, they’ll let you down. Come in. We’re all doing our best, let’s create a model with our children to apologize to others, to them, and finally, to regulate. It can be a trigger on many levels: learning how to slow down, notice your frustration, and take a breath or drink a glass of water before you react can help reduce parenting difficulties without adding to the confusion. can deal with difficult situations.”— Mel Wiggins
“We gave fruit first at breakfast to make sure fruit had the good stuff in it. To this day, my daughter eats fruit first — she eats it next to her bagel.” Texted me a picture of a pile of pineapples – and she’s a sophomore in college.
“Parenting is not a judged activity. With young children, I get feedback from many different sources, including in-laws, friends, parenting professionals, and strangers, on what I should do.” What helped drown out the noise was the realization that I could be a filter for all this advice. What we heard quickly went down the drain, our instincts are strong, we just need to clear a few spaces for them to emerge.” — Tao Tai
What advice would you give to parents with young children? Also, to my fellow parents who have young children, you are doing a good job.
PS 20 amazing parenting tips and slow parenting attempts.
(photo courtesy Valerie Metz.)
