The slower pace of winter is coming to an end. As we head into the month of March, we can feel life get busier with the coming of spring. From longer daylight hours to the discomfort of our “spring ahead” weekend (coming very soon), March brings an increase in parenting chaos. And so, this is a good time to think about the practice of mindful parenting in March.
When our lives get busier and schedules change, we parents definitely feel the pressure. So as we move forward into springtime and its increased activity or changes, here are three ways to practice mindful parenting in March.
Keep your goals in mind
Whether we have stated our parenting goals or not, we each have goals for our parenting. We know what we want our kids to value or to achieve. And we know what kind of people we’d like our children to be.
Is it your goal to have kind kids? Action-taking kids? Kids who listen well? Loving and sharing kids? Kids who notice the world around them? Capable or self-sufficient kids? Let’s choose to focus on our goals for our kids.
So in this spirit, let’s keep our parenting goals in mind. Write something about it in your planner or pin a note where you’ll see it on your phone. Put a sticky note on your mirror or set a reminder to pop up for you daily.
Be a good listener
Listening to our kids
So we all know that it’s important to listen to our children. Like, really listen completely and with our full attention. This can be a challenge, especially when life is busy. At these busy times, you may not be able to listen right when your child wants to talk to you. And do you know what? That is OK. We can let our kids know that we really want to know what they have to say, and we will be able to really listen to them once we finish with this email or in two minutes or whatever.
When we do this, it’s really important that we find a way to get back to them quickly. This process actually teaches our kids two things. It teaches them that they really are important, but that they also need to respect that others are important too. Both lessons are valuable.
Listening to our kids goes beyond listening to their stories and their words. Let’s also listen for the deeper things, not just the surface things. Quite often, what our kids tell us with their words and their reactions can show us something that could be bothering them or troubling them. So let’s listen for the deeper things as we practice mindful parenting in March.
Listening to ourselves
While listening to our children is crucial, it’s also crucial that we listen to ourselves. As parents, we can become really good at ignoring our own needs. There is a lot of pressure in life, even the pressure of good things like this mindfulness effort. These pressures can grow on us, so let’s be sure to listen to our own needs.
Feeling irritable? Let’s figure out where that is coming from. Are you stressed? Take a minute and ask why. Maybe you’re feeling lethargic and unmotivated. Again, let’s figure it out and find a solution. Being OK as ourselves helps us to be OK as parents, so let’s have our practice of mindful parenting in March include listening to ourselves.
Show Empathy
Our little ones are full of feelings, and sometimes these can be a little much for us. Most of our kids’ behavior comes from their feelings. And so it’s important that we help them express these feelings and learn to say that they are hurt or sad or scared.
Additionally, it’s our job to look beyond the behavior to what is really needed. So when your child launches into an attention-seeking fit, let’s try to look at it differently. Attention-seeking behavior can push all of our buttons, but let’s choose to think about the big picture and to figure out what this behavior is all about.
Our tendency can be to say, “Stop it,” but let’s try to ignore the behavior if possible in the specific situation. We’re not giving in to the negativity, but dealing with it differently. For example, instead of telling them to stop, we could ask if they would like a hug. We could ask what they are thinking about. Or we could point out something wonderful about them. Let’s decide to ask what could be going on for them. This would be a great way to practice mindful parenting in March.
My Signing Time
At My Signing Time, we work hard to produce shows that will teach our kids empathy and care while having lots of fun and educating them too. We love to support parents in communication needs or in helping kids to learn. So would you take a look at My Signing Time and think about whether or not it would be a good fit for your family? You can even try out a digital subscription for 14 days before deciding! Take a look at it here.
How will you practice mindful parenting in March?