By Sarah Hamaker
What are your parenting goals for 2014? Do you want to stop
yelling at your children all the time? Do you want to stop parenting on the fly
and start parenting with purpose? Do you want to have a calmer home with
happier children?
All those things are possible, but, like with most New
Year’s Resolutions, it will take hard work on your part. The good news is that
once you master the basics, you will have built a solid foundation from which
to parent—and things will get easier. That’s not to say your children won’t
have bad days or that you won’t blow your top when the kids break your favorite
glass cat figurine. It does mean you will pick yourself up, brush yourself off,
and start all over again.
How do you become the parent you have always wanted to be?
You start by realizing that the child produces the child, not the parent. Yes,
you have a role, an important one, in raising your child. But ultimately, no
one is responsible for your child except for your child.
How does this help you become a better parent? By taking away
the guilt and the blame and the stress of trying to be the perfect parent. You
will fail, sometimes spectacularly, as a parent, but that doesn’t mean your
child will turn out badly. You will succeed, sometimes wonderfully, as a
parent, but that doesn’t mean your child will be a success in life.
