The last two blogs have been about becoming conscious of how we speak to our children.
Everything matters in our communications: what we say, how we say it, even what we are feeling and thinking while we speak. Children pick up on all of it so they wake us up to the true quality of our communications.
Below are a few questions that will help you reflect on your speech. Remember to be honest but also compassionate toward yourself, since we are all learning as we go.
Pay attention to the quality of your speech. Is it clear and well-formed (i.e. consonants on the ends of words)? What is your tone of voice like?
Is your child often asked to leave the "here and now" to answer a question? (For example -- What did you do at school today? or What's that you are building?) Is he/she able to do this? What effect do such questions seem to have on him/her?
Try to answer some of your child's questions with imaginative, pictorial answers rather than rational, scientific answers. What is the reaction?
If you have been offering fewer choices, how is it going?
Do you feel comfortable taking charge and claiming your authority as a parent? What was your experience of parental authority as a child?
Do these articles raise any questions or comments you would like to discuss? If so, comment here or bring them to class. Sharing amongst peers is a great way to process information and support each other in making changes or validating what we already do. Parenting is a journey in consciousness, full of both joys and sorrows and it is humbling to realize we have so much to learn right alongside our children.
