Parenting from the inside out.

As parents we already know our children imitate us, they look to us as the ultimate role models for guidance in how they act and react, the language they speak, including all the non verbal messages, as well as their values.

Have you thought about how our inner values and language speak far louder than any words we could ever say? How we treat ourselves is always the starting block to how we treat others. Our children pick first learn how to treat others from watching us and this is also true of how they react to themselves.

How we treat ourselves and our internal language often originates from our childhoods and the way we were parented as children. This can be tough to shake especially in times of conflict or stress where we tend to automatically revert to these instinctual patterns.

Is your self talk around parenting loving or harsh and critical? Do you put yourself down for the ways you respond and act in your role as a parent especially around stressful situations or find yourself coming up short to an impossibly perfect standard you have set yourself?

Mindfulness is a beautiful way to connect compassionately with yourself and have the space to nurture your mind, heart and emotions so you are able to parent from a whole, non reactive and loving heart-space. Its also a gentle way to develop a new inner voice so you are able to model that to your children, so that they in turn will grow and develop an inner voice that is calm, comforting, compassionate and supportive.

Parenting can be tough gig and we all need support and encouragement along the way. If this article rang a bell for you I would like to encourage you to drop me an email and ask about my classes for parents. They are fun, warm, engaging and uplifting. You will be in the company of other parents who are in exactly the same place as you. Mention this article and I will book your first class at no cost.

As a parent myself I am still finding areas where i need to step back and practice more self compassion and be mindful of the messages I am sending to my children. Parenting is a journey and one we are all on together that lasts a lifetime! Lets have some fun along the way and support each other to be the best we can be.