How to Be a Happy & More Effective Parent
At Camp Kupugani, our overnight summer camp near Madison, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, we want our families to be as happy as they can be. Ever heard the phrase, “A happy mom is a happy house”? This phrase also applies to parents in general; if you’re happy, their happy. We found an article from the Washington Post with some great ideas on how to do exactly that. Read our take on the article in the bullet list below and/or read the full article here.
Be Happy & Effective
- Parent from wisdom, not fear.
- Replace fear with wisdom.
- Resist acting on feelings.
- Find a mentor
- Decide what battles need to be fought.
- Learn from your mentor’s mistakes.
- Your mentor should have the same beliefs as you do.
- Trust yourself.
- Parenting is not an exact science.
- Engage your children using your past experiences.
- Avoid gossip.
- Rarely is gossip positive.
- Every parent or child is different.
- Gossiping does not allow for mistakes.
- Try abstaining from social media.
- This will help to set values.
- Allow your child to experience natural consequences.
- Coach through instead of avoiding.
- Consequences are how we learn.
- Declutter your child’s schedule.
- Being overscheduled can have negative effects.
- Figure out why your kids do whatever they choose to do..
- Do something you enjoy.
- Start small.
- Find/ develop a hobby.
- Connect.
- Connections with your children can mitigate some issues.
- Seek connections with your parents.
- Make memories.
- Memories cannot be taken away.
- Ask yourself if what you are doing will make memories.
- Do something “old school”.
- Read a book.
- Write a hand-written note.
- Act instead of worrying.
- Use that energy to do something good.
- Don’t become frozen when you have made a mistake.