I love goals! I love setting goals and thinking of the steps to get there. This can be anything from reading a book to meal planning to cleaning to career paths. Because of this, I love January. It is fun for me to think of what I may accomplish in the next year. However, what tends to happen is I pick too many goals – or a goal that is not achievable and I set myself up to fail. I tend to be an all or nothing person and once I see the path slipping, I give up.
This can apply to our parenting. We are hard on ourselves as parents and see our weaknesses as failures. I will often times wake up saying today I will not ….fill in the blank or I will…fill in the blank. With this black and white thinking or all or nothing, we are not allowing for mistakes. I am beginning to learn that my kids learn more from my mistakes and short comings than they do if everything were to be perfect. When I tell the kids we aren’t going to have screen time, I won’t yell and we will go to the park every day…. They will see my weaknesses. BUT! When I forget and we don’t make it to the park and I go to them afterwards and apologize, seeking forgiveness – they are learning that they are not defined by their short comings. They are a human with a sinful nature. They will see the gift of forgiveness and humility. This will set them up not only for future relationships but with their ultimate relationship with God.
I am learning that small steps in the right direction are better than large leaps in the wrong direction. So, with our topic of Classroom Management this month, for our families, we want to challenge you to look at your routines. Don’t wake up and say, today I’m going to make home cooked meals, pray before each one, go to the park, spend one on one time with each child with all smiles and singing. Instead, pick one thing. A habit takes at least three weeks to set as routine. This means, we should choose one thing to implement and stick with it until it becomes routine. Then you can always add another. I’m hoping we can encourage and remind each other that our small steps matter! This article from Focus on the Family had some great ideas for small steps: 8 Small Resolutions That Can Change Your Family – Focus on the Family. I hope you can find something here or one of your own and make solid routines that help strengthen your family. I would love to hear from you! Please send me an email with things that have worked for you so I can pass it on to others! jessica@newcreationschildcare.com Don’t forget!
On January 31, we will be offering a class about challenging behaviors. We hope more of you will join us to hear from the Center for Inclusive Childcare (CICC) on Seven Common Reasons for Challenging Behavior. “Behaviors that challenge adults occur in many forms during the early childhood years. These behaviors may limit a child’s ability to learn, grow, and interact successfully with the world around them. This session will discuss the seven most common reasons for challenging behavior. When we are able to understand the why behind the behavior we can successfully develop and implement strategies that provide lasting success for young children and for you as parents.” Please plan to join us at our Brooklyn Park location from 6pm-7pm. Childcare is full for toddlers and preschool but we have limited spots available for infants. Please sign up here: January 2023 Parent Night
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