NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
The Parent Edition
The beginning of a year can be the time for reinvention, fresh starts and new
beginnings. You can look back at the previous year and pat yourself for
overcoming all the difficulties and hardships. Parenting is a journey full of ups
and downs. Understanding kids is a challenge that all of us face. In this
fast-paced world, the challenges also evolve as quickly and swiftly as one can
think of. The parenting hacks that worked two years ago, may not be relevant this
year. In order for our kids to excel, we must evolve ourselves and our methods of
raising them to the current standards, before COVID, who would have thought
that online education would become such an important part and parcel of all our
lives or that everything that we need would become so easily accessible. But it
did, and with time, our methods also changed.
This year, we thought, we would bring to you a list of resolutions that you could
use to develop yourself as a parent and enjoy this beautiful journey of raising
your kids by breaking chains and staying relevant.
Rethink the way you spend time with your kids
Most of you parents in this day and age are working. Irrespective of that,
there are a million things that people as parents have to take care of.
These things include managing the house, managing meals, doctors’
appointments, kids’ homework, laundry, exercise, etc. These chores and
errands can be exhausting and you may realise that you are multitasking
while you are talking or spending time with your children. This is not fair to
the kids. They need your 100% attention when you are with them. So, the
time has come for you to change the way you are around your kids. Give
them your full attention when they are with you. Listen to them when they
are talking and be involved.
Ensure that your children get enough sleep
Sleep is responsible for recharging bodies. A good sleep routine can help
children retain all the information they have learnt during the day and can
make them fresh and alert for the next day. It also gives the body time to
heal and improve attention, behaviour, learning and memory. Hence, it is
important that you ensure a good sleep routine for them. No gadgets 1
hour before sleeping or after waking up should be allowed. Encourage
bedtime stories and calming and refreshing thoughts. Make sure the
temperature of the room is apt for a good night’s sleep.
Restructure routines.
It’s not just the children who need a routine, parents also need it. So, after
the kids are off to bed and you are done with your chores or when they are
at school, take some time off for yourself. It could be as less as 20 minutes
a day but have that to reignite yourself or to gather your thoughts and
interests. It goes a long way towards a healthy and fulfilling life.
Demonstrate the behaviour you want to see
Instead of telling kids about the things they should do or how they should
behave, it’s better to demonstrate that around them. If you want them to be
kind to animals, be kind to animals around them. If you want them to cook,
try cooking and talking about cooking with them. Practice what you preach
because that’s how kids learn better.
Put a cap on your workday
Don’t drown yourself in work. Try to maintain a work-life-children balance.
At some point, you need to stop and breathe.
Pray together as a family
You may follow a certain religion or culture or may be an atheist but it’s
always good to have faith. Teach your children how to have faith and pray
together as a family. That kind of quality time helps form very strong bonds.
It can help you and your children become stronger mentally and stay
together through thich and thin in the long run.
Attend all school events
School events are important. They give you valuable assessment for your
children and where they need to work and improve and what they are good
at. It can help you evaluate your childrens’ personalities better and what
kind of extra-curricular activities they are interested in. Not only that, but
they also help you evaluate their performances academically and what
issues they are facing. At these events, you can also meet othr parents
and discuss strategies of how to raise kids and maintain healthy
friendships.
Little Genius encourages all the parents to remember that they are not alone in
raising kids. Everyone around you is with you in this beautiful journey of raising
the leaders, believers and thinkers of tomorrow. Our reading program for kids,
leadership program for kids in Ahmedabad, Vadodara motivates children to
become a better version of themselves making your life easier.
