The Ultimate Guide for Developing Patience as a Parent

ultimate-guide-for-parents-to-develop-patience

By Dr. Dhanalakshmi N.

Ph.D. (N), PG Psychological Counselling, M.Sc. Psychology

Introduction

Parenting is an art. Every parent loves their children and yet, we all had experienced losing our temper sometimes. It is important to practice patience daily while caring for our children because children imitate by observing us. Practicing patience will benefit our health, family and other people around us.

The following are some strategies for parents to practice patience while caring for their children:

  1. Identify triggers: Identify the factors causing you to lose your patience. Finding the cause will help you to prevent the triggers or solve the problem.
  2. Self-care: Caring for children and managing their daily activities may be stressful at times. It is important for the parents to care for them with a nutritious diet, adequate sleep, exercise, yoga, meditation and relaxation techniques that will promote their physical and mental well-being and also helps to manage their emotions appropriately. Set a time for yourself.
  3. Practice patience: Whenever you feel stressed and frustrated, consciously calm down and think twice before you answer or speak to your child. Whenever you are angry, practice counting from one to ten before you answer your child. Avoid raising your voice, hitting, shouting or screaming etc.
  4. Practice breathing: Sit in a comfortable place, close your eyes, begin with a few normal breaths and followed by deep breaths, breathing deeply through the nose and breathing out through the mouth. Focus on breaths while practicing. Practice 10 to 20 minutes daily. While breathing relax your muscles and body.
  5. Practice mindfulness techniques: Live in the present moment. Living in the past makes you depressed and living in the future will lead to anxiousness. Live in the present moment by mindful eating, mindful bathing, mindful talking, mindful breathing, mindful working etc., being aware of every activity will promote satisfaction and balance your emotions. For example, feel the color, texture and taste of the food while eating than eating food by watching TV or phone.
  6. Practice Gratitude Journal: Set a regular time to record three to five things for which you feel grateful. Write down an inspiring person, good experiences, happy moments, and blessings etc., Daily practice of a gratitude journal promotes a good mood, positive emotions, satisfaction with life and develops patience.
  7. Practice listening skills: Listen to your child before you respond or react to your child’s behaviour. Ask your child to explain her behaviour or the reason for her behaviour, this will help the parents to understand the child from her perspective.
  8. Practice kindness: Practice kindness. One who is kind to self will be kind to others. Practicing kindness helps you to develop patience. Being kind to self and others reduces the secretion of stress hormone(cortisol) and promotes self-confidence and compassion.
  9. Assess the child’s needs: Assess the child’s needs frequently and meeting the needs will prevent stress and frustration for the child and also for the parents. Making a schedule from waking to bedtime will prevent confusion and minimizes stress.
  10. Work-life balance: Plan for a fun day. Spend time together with your child, relax and enjoy playing some fun games, sharing some stories, doing art and craft work, taking a short walk or planning for a picnic etc., setting time for having fun daily promotes happy hormones and balances your emotions. Daily we have the opportunity to practice patience

Conclusion

Patience is important in our daily life. Practicing the above strategies will help as the key factor to developing patience at home, office and while waiting at a traffic signal etc., Daily practice will help parents to develop patience.

Reference:

By vitalmadevadmin in Behaviour and Discipline, Child Safety, Parent Care 0 Comment

How to Nurture Curiosity in Children

how-to-nurture-curiosity-in-children

By Dr. Dhanalakshmi N.

Ph.D. (N), PG Psychological Counselling, M.Sc. Psychology

Introduction

When things don’t follow a pattern or make sense, kids become curious. Children have a natural desire for knowledge. Curiosity may provide an explanation for a child’s how, what, when, where and why questions. Children want to immediately understand the fundamentals of how things operate or understand why something is happening. A child that is naturally interested will always be open to new experiences and be imaginative, especially when dealing with everyday items.

In light of this, if your child frequently asks you questions, it means that she is beginning to think and that the natural progression of her cognitive growth has begun. You would be increasing your child’s knowledge when you answer the questions patiently. Curiosity is a good thing in children. But when children ask one question after another, sometimes you could lose your temper. However, the ability to maintain composure and self-control is very crucial for parents. The following tips to develop patience may help you.

https://dev.vitalma.in/blog/2023/01/08/tips-to-parents-to-develop-patience/

It is in fact a blessing to have curious children as that is the way they learn. When we nurture curiosity, you get children who are thirsty for knowledge.

Ways to keep curiosity alive

  • Answer to your child’s doubts: Respond to questions sincerely: Be thoughtful in your responses to your child’s concerns. If you don’t know the answer, seek answers together from Internet, books or experts. Help her feel comfortable with feelings of not knowing something, and also help her realize the eagerness of resolving doubt.
  • Nurture your child’s passions: Discover your child’s hobbies, then go exploring with him.
  • Redirect interests: If your child enjoys playing with water, instead of saying ‘Don’t’ when she throws a cup of water, give her water and containers, and allow her to play in an area that can be messed up. Show her acceptable ways of learning.
  • Ensure a safe environment: Safety should be your main concern when children are exploring their environment. Cover plug points and keep medicines, cleaners, sharp objects and hot surfaces out of their reach. Supervise children around water.
  • Give children stability: Young children succeed in a calm and orderly family life with regular mealtimes and bedtime routines. The schedule serves as a child’s clock because they are unable to tell the time. When children’s lives are stressful, they respond by playing less and exploring less. Children who experience abuse, neglect, violence, natural disasters or war lose their curiosity and do not explore like children raised in healthy, stable homes.
  • Choose toys wisely: Children need play materials they can operate. Blocks, boxes, puzzles, water and art materials can be  immense sources of fun and learning for your child.
  • Let them Explore: Give them magnets, buckets, magnifying glasses, measuring tape, sand, clay, water and measuring cups for their investigations and to keep their curiosity alive. Our kids will gravitate toward things they find appealing. Let them explore without pushing anything on them.  Being too strict or too careful could hinder the natural creativity of children. Give them the freedom to discover whatever they desire.
  • Make your child observant: Make your child observant by pointing out things and posing questions. Ask your child to describe her environment. Ask her to find five things in red color in the surroundings. Such small games will increase his awareness of his surroundings.
  • Address their curiosity: Children often come up with lots of questions. Address their questions without complications. Don’t ignore or overwhelm them with too much information.

References

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6203666/pdf/nihms961935.pdf
  2. https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Patient-With-Kids
By vitalmadevadmin in Behaviour and Discipline, Development and Milestones 0 Comment

Tips to parents to develop patience 

tips-for-parents-to-develop-patience.

– By Dr. Dhanalakshmi N.

Ph.D. (N), PG Psychological Counselling, M.Sc. Psychology

Introduction

We love our young children but they can be a lot of work. During their early childhood, the demands of their upbringing can be sometimes taxing. Their cute questions may turn exhausting. Dealing with their tantrums may become seemingly impossible. However, it is very important to remember that they are just kids and that they are facing the pains of growing-up and we as adults must not lose our patience at least most of the times. Here are some tips to gain composure and remain calm, for parents in trying times.

  • Breathe and Relax: Before responding or reacting to your children, take a moment to breathe and center yourself. Tell yourself to wait if you notice your body tensing up or your heart starting to beat when you start to get frustrated. Take a five- count inhale and hold it for an additional five seconds. Gently exhale. As you do this, consciously relax your muscles. You could be taken aback by how much calmer you feel. Taking a minute to breathe slowly also gives you time to connect with your thoughts, which will help you respond calmly. If it calms you, repeat a word as you take deep breaths. You might simply say to yourself “I love my child.”
  • Never resort to physical violence: As tempting as it may be, avoid spanking, hitting, throwing and shaking at all costs. Avoid yelling and loud scolding too.
  • Step away for a moment if possible:  Take a short break to calm down and think before you react. If you’re struggling to remain patient, it’s completely fine to take a short break. Say something like, “Let’s meet after 5 minutes, and then we’ll discuss your situation.” If you are stepping away from a young child, leave her in the hands of a responsible adult first.
  • Practice patience: The more you practice being patient, the easier it gets. If you make a conscious effort to be calmer in your interactions with everyone, you’ll find it a lot easier to be patient with your child. For example, if you’re stuck behind a slow driver, you might say, “Gosh, we’re going slow. Oh well, at least we’ve got more time to enjoy the music.”
  • Spend time having fun with your kids: Relax and enjoy time together to reduce your frustration with each other.  Make a point of spending a little time every day just enjoying each other’s company. You might make simple cooking, play interesting games together, read a story to your child or allow them to choose an activity. If you don’t have a lot of time to schedule fun activities, don’t worry, simple things can be fun too. Make the most of the time you do have, even if it’s just spending a few minutes listening to music or reading a book together when you get home from work.
  • Set aside time for self-care: Do things that make you feel rested, healthy and happy. As a parent, we maybe place our children’s needs first, most frequently without looking after ourselves. It’s important to practice self-care so you have the energy and enthusiasm to care for your children. Get plenty of sleep since feeling rested can help you have patience. Eat nutritious food so you feel your best.  Spending time with your partner or friends is another important aspect of self-care. Make plans to get out with other adults occasionally since you could find that you become crankier when you haven’t spent time away from your children in a while.
  • Count to 10: Close your eyes, take deep breaths and count to 10. This is one of the oldest yet most effective calming-down techniques that is still recommended and practiced widely.
  • Forgive yourself: Occasionally, we all lose our patience. If you do, it is okay. Forgive yourself, reflect on it and be better the next time.

References

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6203666/pdf/nihms961935.pdf
  2. https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Patient-With-Kids
By vitalmadevadmin in Behaviour and Discipline, Child Safety, Parent Care 0 Comment