What is Conscious Parenting? By Grace Khleif

Conscious Parenting is not about a set of rules for parents to follow but a set of beliefs about what children need to develop and thrive.

Our children are our most precious gifts. Our job is to provide them with a healthy environment to prosper, give them the support needed to express themselves and teach them to connect with others in a loving manner.

Conscious parents are emotionally intelligent parents; they have the ability to make healthy choices based on accurately identifying, understanding and managing their feelings and those of their children.

·        They are self-aware and have the ability to know their own internal resources. Their strengths and weaknesses, their emotional responses their self-expression and communication styles. 

·         They self-manage in a healthy way. They have the ability for impulse control, they are adaptable, manage their stress well, are positive and non-judgmental.

·         They are aware of their children; they know their styles, habits, preferences and can connect to them with empathy.

·         They manage their relationships with their children well. They build rapport with them, listen and communicate to understand and guide, create bonds and deal with conflict

ina healthy way.

Being a conscious parent doesn’t require you to change all your parenting methods, it is simply an invitation for you to become mindful and open minded, as you shift your thinking about what children need and explore new methods to help you understand what is going on behind their behavior.

Young children especially those under six years old don’t have a fully developed conscious mind. They are emotional beings who react to feelings and sensations only. Give them the benefit of the doubt when their behavior seems unwarranted. They simply react and perceive the world around them differently than you.

We all are emotional beings and the words we say and the sounds we make create feelings, images and sensations.Therefore, what we say to our children and how we say it is very crucial? How we react and behave is of utmost importance too. When they get hurt and we make light of their injury we allow them to relax and feel safe. When we freak out, we scare them.  How we react to their behavior creates beliefs and as a result patterns of behavior are created. Whenever they feel the same they react in the same way. Their reactions become habits that are automatic and irrational.

How we learn to respond to life is driven by our interactions with others and the patterns which are set up in early childhood form the basis of our future relationships. Once we become self-aware; watch our language and expectations and self-regulate; manage our relationships well we become emotionally intelligent role models.

Conscious parenting increases your child’s trust in the world and cultivates the environment your child needs to develop and thrive mentally, physically, and emotionally. Therefore, fill the hearts and minds of your children with compassion and acceptance. Teach them understanding,confidence, and respect. Then watch become healthy, stable adults.

Grace Khleif