Parenting Role VS Parent-Child Relationship

Have you ever thought about the fact that you will be in relationship with your child for longer when they are a grown adult than during these formative years when they are growing up?

If you get certain things right during these early years, the growing human you are caring for right now will be part of your life for two-to three-times longer when they are an adult than when they are a child you are responsible for raising.

What does this mean? 

Your role as a parent involves the day-to-day caregiving tasks, like making sure they eat and sleep, helping them learn important life skills like how to tie their shoes, how to clean up after themselves, and how to be a kind friend.

The parenting role involves caring for their physical needs, and teaching them stuff they need to know about how to be a functional human being in society.

There is an additional - and I would argue equally, if not more important - aspect of parenting to consider and that is your relationship with your child.

The CALMER Parenting Principles I teach will get you there.

When you implement the CALMER parenting principles, family life will feel, well, calmer. 

There are many different ways implementing the CALMER parenting principles can change your family life for the better.  In future posts, we will do a deeper dive into exactly how we do this. 

What makes family life more enjoyable is also what makes the “parenting” part (the “role”) easier.

And because I have three children with three different personalities and different needs, I can’t apply a “one-size-fits-all” approach to parenting, even within my own family!

I tailor what I do and say to the needs of each of my children, but this is easy to do because the way I BE - the way I am in the world, the way I show up in my relationships with each of them - is informed by the CALMER principles.

These principles serve as a guide for how I do everything in parenting and family life, even if what I am doing is different for each kid.

So what are the CALMER parenting principles?

Developed through my doctoral dissertation research, the CALMER Parenting Principles offer a transformative approach to managing challenging behaviors in young children.

Each principle is designed to help parents move from a place of stress and frustration to one of calm, confidence, and connection.

By mastering skills like connection, listening, and emotional regulation, you can:

• Reduce parenting stress and burnout.

• Break the cycle of yelling, bribing, and punishing.

• Respond to challenging behavior with calm and confidence.

• Strengthen your bond with your child, even in the toughest moment

Stay tuned for more as we dive into these principles.

If you’re reading this and want help adapting the CALMER Parenting Principles to your unique family life, please consider coaching with me. Learn more and book a free consult call with me by clicking here.