Posts tagged ‘connected parenting’
If You Think Parenting Is Easy, You’re Doing It Wrong
If we truly have multiple lives, I must have been a lizard at one point. I absolutely love the sun. There’s nothing more relaxing to me than sitting out in direct sunlight soaking in those damaging rays. I remember in high school spending every day laying out by the pool. Oh, how I miss summer vacation…three months of no responsibility and no thoughts of wrinkles, sun spots or skin cancer.
To kick off our summer this year, my little guy, my man and I ventured out to a local lake last weekend for a day of sun, sand and swimming. We live a short drive away from a man-made lake, made from an old rock quarry, filled with water and fish and surrounded by a sandy beach. There’s even a dock with canoes and paddle boats for rent. It’s a great family spot for days when you just don’t feel like driving an hour to the actual ocean.
As I watched the boys engineer an irrigation system to carry water from their hand crafted pool down to the shoreline, I looked around at all the other families enjoying the 90 degree day by the lake. Parents were relaxing in the sun, while the kids splashed in the water, barbeques smoked and umbrellas danced in the wind. What a beautiful display of family togetherness and summertime fun, I thought… That was until I noticed a sign propped up near the water’s edge.
Tent signs, printed in a bold black and white, lined the beach as if to guard the water line. These signs depicted two black figures holding hands, one significantly larger than the other. Next to this outline of parent and child, stood bold black wording, glaring out at all lake patrons, instructing parents to actively watch their children. These signs caught my attention and shifted my focus for a moment. Instead of watching the engineering feat taking place next to me, I began to think about these signs and what they represented.
At first glance, one might feel comforted by these caution signs, pleased that the community would go out of their way to protect children. One might think, ‘Wow, what a great Park and Rec Department we have!’ Unfortunately I see something else in these friendly reminders.
I see the deterioration of families and parenting.
Are we really at the point were we need signs and public service announcements to instruct us on how to be parents?
I was immediately saddened by the thought that we now need some form of government or authority to remind us to actively watch our children. I thought that trait was naturally ingrained in every parent from the moment their child was brought into this world. Apparently I was wrong. As I looked around I noticed, some people do need instruction.
If we’re going to have signs instructing us how to be a parent, we might as well line our parks and playgrounds with the following signs as well…
No Blackberry’s, iPhones or PDAs – Play with your Children, They’re Only Little Once
Manners Matter – Please and Thank You Go a Long Way!
Patience is a Virtue – Wait Your Turn on the Slide Politely
Name Calling, Swearing & Teasing Prohibited
Sharing Makes Everyone Feel Good
and last but not least….
If You Think Parenting is Easy, You’re Doing it Wrong
Beautiful Blogger Award
I am truly amazed by how much our lives are affected by timing. You can be in the wrong place at the wrong time, meet Mr. Right when you’re already married to Mr. Wrong or just happen to read a witty status update on Facebook that gets you through a really rough day. Lauren’s post on mylifeincomplete.com the other day, could not have come at a more perfect time.
As I’ve mentioned before, I recently found Lauren while winding through this intricate world of bloggers and really connected with her well written posts. We share a remarkable number of similarities and life experiences. In her recent post, Beautiful Blogger, Lauren explains how she received the Beautiful Blogger Award twice in one week – which I must add, is very well deserved!! She went on to say that by accepting the award she must pass the honor on to eight other deserving blogs.
As I read through the post, I just about fell out of my chair when I saw her first honoree was Single Soccer Mom at My 30′s! While the award has the look to be the beginnings of a blogging chain letter, I still am honored that Lauren, a beautiful, talented writer, would consider my blog in the same category!
Once again Lauren, you have inadvertently influenced my life. This last week or so, I have been wondering if I should continue blogging. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing and find joy in sharing my single mom struggles… but I do have very limited time in my already hectic Single Soccer Mom schedule to maintain a blog and continuously pump out new material. I just found myself asking, “Is this really worth the time and effort?”
Well, it looks one person thinks so… Thank you Lauren! I guess I’ll keep at this blogging thing for a little while longer 
Passing the Torch
Now, onto bestowing the honors to another Beautiful Blog…
Since I am considerably new to the blogging community and am still trying to find my way through its elaborate web, I haven’t been following that many blogs yet. If I were to pass on the award, the winners would be automatically selected from the mere list of 4 or 5 blogs that I follow.
Therefore, I’ve decided to pass the award on to a blog that I feel every parent should visit at least once. This site did not win on aesthetics alone. I am giving Connected Parenting – The Blog the honor of Beautiful Blogger for the beautiful things it can do to your family.
I recently came across the blog and was intrigued by the subject matter. During a two-hour lunch break, I found myself wandering through a local bookstore in search of the book of the same name, Connected Parenting, by Jennifer Kolari. After reading just a few chapters and applying the techniques described within those pages, I have seen the bond between my little man and I blossom even more. While my son has never been a problem or difficult child, he has been known to throw a mean tantrum every now and then…especially after coming back from Dad’s house. I found being a ‘connected parent’ helps me stay calm during those situations and helps my son express what’s really going on beneath the incessant “No…I don’t wanna!”
Thank you Lauren and Connected Parenting for making my life more beautiful and giving me more things to blog about
Congratulations to the other winners…
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