Parenting

Ah the joys and sorrows of parents.

Its 2013 and my children are getting older and I'm getting wiser.  I am?

My daughter is in 8th grade and my son is in 5th grade.  You will think that by now, they will be the perfect children that keep their rooms organized and help their parents with chores without whining. In my dreams!

I have tried so many chore charts and tactics, I just don't know what else to do.

How about those fights about toys.  Well, being a boy and a girl, you will think there were no problems. Now this days, is the Ipod, the game system, the computer, the TV remote.

When your kids at fighting, what is a Mom to do? Is hard to be the peacemaker.  "He started it, She started it." My patience gets tested, and little by little my mood changes, and there goes nice mom turning into mom Hulk.

After meeting with the anxiety therapist over a month ago, she suggested a parent support group. It will meet every Friday starting this month in January.  The group meets for 12 weeks.  The reason I agreed, was to see what I can get out of this group.  There will be many topics discussed in the group.  Mainly how can parents interact better with their children without creating more stress in the family.  And how can children get along better with their parents.

The topic for today was stress.  The leader of the group asked,"Why it was important for us to talk about stress in a parenting group?"  One of the parents said,"Because its something we all deal with on a daily basis."

When we are stressed our relationships at home suffer the consequences.  What should we do to avoid stress?

When you are tired, rest.  When you are hungry, eat healthy food.  When you feel angry,  step aside to another room and calm down.  When you feel lonely, call someone.

One of my blog friends Melinda is now over at Mothering From Scratch
She is an amazing Mom.  I have a lot in common with her.  She has helped me understand the  weakness in me, and how that affects my children's behavior.

Every time I feel down for something I did, somehow I always get inspired by a post at Mothering From Scratch.  I feel that I'm not alone in my struggles of motherhood.  God has amazing ways to teach me things. I am learning from the experiences of other parents.  I might not be in the exact situation they are in, but it helps me to understand their struggles and avoid doing the same mistakes they have done.

There is one thing that has stirred in me from today's parent meeting.  I'm not only a parent but I can also understand my child from my point of view of a child.  Let me talk more about this in my next post.