This phase, too, shall pass!
If there is one phrase that has helped me more than anything else on my rollercoaster parenting ride, it is this little one.
This Phase, too, shall pass!
I can’t remember where I first heard it. It might have been whilst trawling through endless respectful parenting forums searching for answers or maybe as I read through the plethora of wise words on Janet Lansbury’s blog. Either way, they have been nothing short of a God send. They are my sanity savers.
Do you ever lose it at your kids? Like, really lose it? I’m sure for most of us, there are definitely times when we are pushed to the brink by our children and before we know it we have given in to our emotions and lost it at the kids.
Do you find your child clings to you all day? Does whining and testing behaviour seem to be the norm at the moment? It could be because your child’s attention bucket needs filling.
Toilet training regression is extremely common in toddlers and young children. It can happen at varying times upon them first learning to use the toilet and can be stressful and frustrating for both the child and their parents.
In RIE parenting, toilet training is referred to as toilet learning. RIE teaches us that a child will learn to use the toilet when they are ready and do not need to be trained to do so. We have been on both sides of the coin with our children and are now happily watching our youngest child lead her toilet learning journey as we speak. There have been bumps along the way but this is our story so far.
It is completely natural for parents to want their children to get along. Who wouldn’t want their children to be best friends and to look out for each other when we are not there to do so? Sibling relationships are unique and special. They are unlike any other relationship we will have in our lives; however, by its very nature it is not always going to be the idyllic vision we had hoped. Sibling Rivalry, is always going to play a prominent part of most childhoods.
When I was introduced to RIE nearly three years ago, I instantly knew I was going to be a better parent for it. The tools, strategies and ideas Magda Gerber had developed and taught to parents and care givers for the past four decades struck a beautiful chord with me and for the first time since my children were born, I felt like I was finally doing something right.
My daughter is not giving me a hard time, she is having a hard time. And even if I feel like she IS giving me a hard time, it is important for me to realise that my hard time comes from my own insecurities and triggers from my past. They are my feelings to own and deal with. I am the adult and I must take responsibility for how I handle those feelings.
I knew this day would come. I knew I couldn’t keep going forever. A four yearlong part playing the greatest role of my life –a parent. An all-consuming role where being me, it has turned out, simply does not cut it.
I wanted to get this one right. In my mind there was no room for error and so I put everything into it and more. I was not good enough for my children in the early days. I didn’t know enough about them and I didn’t know enough about parenting. I was still being me and was failing.
So I stopped being me. I was a parent and I wanted to be a good one.
