Are you Aiming for Perfection

Last week on the podcast, I asked – Do you think having obedient kids makes you a good parent? We must let go of the myth that perfect parents exist.

GOD’S FIRST CHILDREN DISOBEYED HIM

Does that make you feel better? It did me. When I first realized that God, the Father Himself, who is perfect, had disobedient kiddos, I breathed a sigh of relief. You can read the rest of the post and listen to the podcast here.

This week, I moved on to the next step –

Have a reconciliation Plan in Place

If we follow God’s pattern of parenting, we will have a plan in place to follow disobedience. If we have the understanding that our kiddos aren’t going to be perfectly obedient, it gets a bit easier, especially if we have a reconciliation plan in place. God had one. He knew Adam and Eve would disobey Him. Before the foundation of the world, He had chosen to adopt us (Ephesians 1: 4,5). He already planned to send His Son to come to earth as a man and sacrifice Himself so we could reconnect with God. That’s the goal of a reconciliation plan. It’s a fancy way of saying – What will you do after disobedience? The goal of the plan is to get back to connection. At the end of whatever consequence you choose, there should be a reconnection. Keep in mind, all of this depends on the child (and your attitude).

Just a note – Kids who have experienced trauma or who have a capital letter syndrome my not have great executive function. They are impulsive. Sometimes these behaviors aren’t disobedience, just a faulty neural pathway.

Some Reconciliation Tools

So how do we reconcile with our kiddos and make sure they are learning and growing in character at the same time?

First of all, we often think of parenting as something we are “good” at “bad” or “meh” at. Instead, we need to think of it as a skill we can’t get better at. We shouldn’t stay static. Think about it, when we go on a job interview, we’re asked what our strengths are (more on that in a couple of weeks when I talk about our parenting strengths). When you have a profession, like parenting, you can use tools to accomplish what you need to. However you approach your reconciliation plan, it should include reconnection at the end. Here are just a few tools or “Instead Of” Tips.

“INSTEAD OF” PARENTING SUGGESTIONS

• Instead of a lecture, use simple language (8- 12 words total).
• Instead of waiting for behavior to intensify, respond quickly.
• Instead of giving orders, offer simple choices.
• Instead of just correcting, give immediate retraining and a “re-do.”
• Instead of expecting a child to know, clarify expectations.
• Instead of isolating when a child is dysregulated, keep the child near you.
• Instead of only noticing the “bad” behaviors, offer praise for success.
• Instead of taking it personally, remember there is a need behind the behavior.

Want to learn more?

Click HERE to read the whole “Instead Of” Tips article and HERE for your free downloadable infographic.

If the these tools for parenting are all new to you, take some time and read the article, maybe print it off and hi-light some tools you’d like to try. Hint – Don’t try all at once and all of them won’t work for every child. Also, print the infographic or save it on your phone to refer to!

Listen to “There Are No Perfect Parents” below: