“You cannot out-discipline a desire you still worship. Only God can change your appetite. When sin becomes too sweet to quit, you need God to make it bitter.”
“It is common for new parents to feel guilty when their babies cry. But remember - it is not the parent's fault. The parent's job is to be responsive to their baby, and to help them feel loved and secure.”
Source: What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress
“Absolute laws of parenting do not exist. Each child is different, in personality, time, age, health and geography. They have different strengths and weaknesses for which we need nuanced responses. There is never one specific word, sentence or response that will always work. There are however, principles of parenting behaviour that we can rely on in most circumstances”
Source: What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress
“Throughout our parenting life, the greatest battle is not with the child but with our own worries.”
Source: What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress
“You can’t support your family if you can’t support yourself. Trust your gut. It might be time to check in on your mental health.”
Source: What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress
“Childhood is a time of discovery and learning. Play is vitally important for early child development. It allows them to express their creativity and learn to interact with other children. For them it is both work and relaxation. While children love exploring and we must give them enough time to play, many infants and toddlers also find reassurance in repetitive routines, and we need to build this stability into their day.”
Source: What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress
“Adolescence is a turbulent time of life, and parents are understandably concerned about their children. There is a fine line between wanting to know if your child is in trouble and respecting their privacy.”
Source: What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress
“If we are struggling at any stage of parenting, think about the atmosphere in the house that we are creating. Is it one of anxiety or anger? Disapproval or judgment?
Show your child warmth, support, tolerance, encouragement and praise. Be fair to them, provide them with security, focus on giving them approval and acceptance for their differences.
Imagine the atmosphere in the house with this abundance of these things. Your child will feel safe, loved and confident, moving into the world a whole and grounded being.”
Source: What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress
“To help our kids develop self-compassion, we need to retrain the way they see and speak to themselves - their inner voice. To do this, we might need to retrain our own inner voice, to be gentle with ourselves and accept the parenting decisions we have made. By being kind to ourselves, over time, our children will learn and build on their own self-compassion.”
Source: What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress
“When babies are very young, their behaviours are automatic and reflex driven. Only at 6-14 weeks old do they begin to become aware of the outside world. New babies are simply not aware of us, and we need to adjust our expectations around their behaviour. In other words, we won’t always be able to stop them crying, or make them calm, or get them to feed well.”
Source: What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress