Guest Blog Written By: Kris Simpson of KrisJSimpson.com
Quick disclaimer…
I’m a proud parent (of a 12 year old boy and 8 year old girl) but I’m far from “perfect”, rather I strive for progression not perfection. I hope these three parenting tips helps you as much it has helped me!
Quick back story…
I attended a family retreat with my son organized by Family Board Meetings http://familyboardmeetings.com/ at Powder Mountain in Utah.
The objective was to create a tighter bond with my son by spending quality time with him along with other entrepreneurs and their children. As you may know, entrepreneurs and professionals seem to have the most challenges with spending quality time with their children.
One of the presenters at the family retreat was Dr. Shefali who is a clinical psychologist, author and international speaker who is regularly featured on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN TV https://drshefali.com/on-oprah/
During the event she asked the children and parents what they needed most from each other.
The children, who ranged from 10 years old to 16 years old, all referred to what I now call the 3-P’s of parenting as being what was most important to them (and which many of them felt was lacking from their parents).
I was featured as a guest on Global News AM 640 Parenting show https://globalnews.ca/toronto/program/the-parenting-show hosted by Pina Crispo (ironically on Father’s Day) along with my co-guest, lifestyle and travel blogger Angie Campanelli http://www.familytravelguide.ca/
On the show I explained the 3-P’s of Parenting and how to become a progressively better parent:
- Presence:
In our western society, time is in short supply, and parenting time is on the decline. With our attempt to keep up (or ahead) in our careers along with balancing our own emotional and physical health, creating quality time for our relationships is no easy task.
With all respect, I think parents of past generations may have had it easier in this regard. There was more traditions that allowed for more family time and they were not caught up in the web or what we call social media and digital communication.
2. Patience:
With all of the micro decisions we have to make because of the incessant bombardment of social media and digital communication (which we digest with decadence), our emotional and physical energy is taxed much more than in prior generations of parents, therefore our patience is limited as well.
To boot, we struggle to keep up with our self-care and health practices which are in place to keep us charged up. The end result is an energy deficit which causes a general lack of patience (while driving and to the factor of 10 when driving with our kids in the car!)
I wrote about energy as being the problem and the solution in my book the All Inclusive Diet and how our F.E.A.R.R.S. or the Six Lifestyle Facets can be the power source we need to connect to achieve high performance in all of our relationships including those with our children. Get your free copy here www.krisjsimpson.com/books
3. Playfulness:
Having FUN! This is one area that I have had to pay attention to. By default, I take on the traditional parenting role of setting and maintaining structure for my children.
But here’s the thing, when I play with my children I by default become more present and patient!
Angie Campanelli added in a bonus “P” which she called PRESSURE. She pointed out that as parents, we feel an enormous amount of pressure to be the best parents, and because of this, sometimes the performance stress has us going in the opposite direction of the 3-P’s.
Hope you love this episode, listen to the replay of the show (click here to listen) and/or the recap video and please share this post with any other parents you know are also feeling the pressure of parental performance and wish to become more present, patient, and playful with their children!
Inspire to aspire,
KJ Simpson
Get a FREE copy of my new book the All Inclusive Diet HERE
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