Book Review: Parenting in the Present Moment

 Parenting in the Present Moment by Carla Naumburg Review

Takeaways:

1. Parenting is very challenging and a personal mindfulness practice is important to support yourself and your kids.

2. Parenting is a practice (something we make a conscious, intentional choice to do over and over again) and we need to talk about it more.

 3. An engaged presence with our children is the most beneficial thing we can do for them. 

Things I have used:

 1. "The reality, of course, is that there isn't a single piece of advice or gadget or theory that is going to solve the problem if we haven't yet taken the time to fully explore and understand the underlying situation at hand, including what the problem is, how our children understand it, and perhaps most importantly, what it's triggering within us."

- With two little ones at home that are still very much exploring their world, when inevitable frustration comes about, I have been trying really hard to take a moment and see it from their perspective. Also finding the trigger to the issue rather than rushing to solve the problem for them.

2. "There is one thing that you can do to maintain a strong relationship: show up."

-Every parent interacts with their children differently even in a couple. You make mistakes, you sometimes wish you acted differently in certain situations with your children. But continuing to show up, to try and learn from those mistakes, a willingness to adjust and try new things is key. 

3."Self-compassion is different from each of these in a few important ways; it's not dependent on what we do or achieve in life, nor is it dependent on how we compare to other people or how other people judge us. It's not about wallowing in our own negativity. Rather, self-compassion is about noticing when we're in pain or suffering, and being nice to ourselves in return.

-I think this is very important lesson for anyone. Can you detect when you are struggling and be kind to yourself? It is easy to think yes, but is challenging to actually follow through.

 

Quotes that I liked:

 1. "Once we let go of focusing on the rights and wrongs of what our children are doing, we can connect with their perspectives and feelings." (Seen chapter)

2. "The good news is that good parenting happens in small moments every day." (Chapter 5)

3. "Figure out what you can let go of." (Chapter 6)

 

- I found the book to be an interesting read, though a little redundant and long for what it was. But I do practice mindfulness already and feel I have a good control and outlet for communicating my feelings. But for any parent, especially one that is feeling a bit or a lot overwhelmed, I recommend this book!

Did anyone else read it? What did you find beneficial?