The Shift to Conscious Parenting

We always have a choice, in every given moment, to be, act and communicate in whatever way we do, however, most of the time we do it unconsciously.

We’ve heard it, read it or have said it many times…kids don’t come with a manual and we all do the best we can with what we know!

It appears that things have gotten a little out of hand though, as we are seeing the effects of bullying becoming more widespread and on the rise; millions of children still needing to turn to a supportive stranger on the other end of the phone to talk about their feelings and the need for programs within our education system to teach our children how to be kinder, empathetic and compassionate! How did we get here?

We pull up to a drive-thru restaurant and politely recite our order, offering a big smile and thank you as we leave only to find ourselves a few minutes later yelling at our kids because they accidentally spilled their drinks all over the back seat.

It’s Sunday and we enjoy an hour of inspiration and calmness and extend our hands offering peace to our neighbor and but a few hours later that afternoon we completely lose it with one of our children.

We are enjoying a great catch up with an old friend on the phone and then the tone of our voice does a 180 degree turn as our child interrupts us and then we instantly shift back to our pleasant manner with our friend.

It’s like we’re on auto-pilot…we shift gears without even realizing it but our kids feel it…there’s no doubt about that and you can imagine how confusing it must be for them.

Many of us can relate to these scenarios and by looking at them from the outside we can become more aware of our own double identity…so who are we Mr./Mrs. Jeckyll or Hyde?

There’s an authenticity that comes with being more aware and conscious, not only as parents, but in all areas of our life, and although making the shift does take consistent energy and focus, it isn’t as hard as it might seem at first, in fact so much of it is common sense.

It’s not a bad thing that there isn’t a manual after all! We get to create our own and add as many pages as we want and tear out the ones that have become worn.

We always have a choice, in every given moment, to be, act and communicate consciously or unconsciously. To be kind or not, compassionate or not, empathetic or not, peaceful or not…and tipping the scales more in the conscious direction will undoubtedly lead to a new generation of children who won’t have to learn about these qualities in a classroom…they’ll be living it at home.