Even before I was finally blessed with the gift of motherhood, I kept a long list tucked away in the back of my mind of the many behaviors and lessons I wanted to model for my children. Not knowing that my journey of infertility would lead to a beautiful adoption and then seven more children to call my own, I envisioned such peaceful, quintessential parenting moments where I would instill solid characteristics such as honesty, gratitude, perseverance, kindness, respect, responsibility, and above all, a love of self. I looked forward to guiding each of them to choose a path that fueled their individual passions, all while making the world a better place in their own, unique way.
That may seem like some lofty parenting goals, but once I jumped on the motherhood train after waiting five very long years to become a mom, despite the exhaustion and completely unrealistic vision of what parenting would really be like, I still clung to those ideals. If I was going to be parenting a small troop of eight kids, I was going to give it my all—and then some!
I’ve learned a lot (mostly from on-the-job training) in my 25 years of parenting, and aside from the fact that it is indeed the toughest job you’ll ever love, the most important tool I’ve relied on during every stage of motherhood is communication. It is absolutely critical when raising a family.
The word communication is an umbrella term for many interactions with loved ones. It’s not just about verbally talking with another person, it’s about focusing and listening. It's about how we engage with our kids when they enter a room, how we react when they’ve done something wrong (or right!), how we participate in public settings with them, and simple things like how we read their body language or how they might interpret ours.
How we communicate can determine the outcome in nearly every situation that we have with our kids. Sure there are hundreds of mundane, everyday interactions such as getting them up and ready for school or driving them back and forth to their various events, but guess what—those interactions with your kids can lay a pivotal foundation for the more serious or contentious situations where your communication and guidance can make all the difference, a most positive difference, to your kids and family.
If you haven’t been on the top of your communicating game, you can start fresh today. Mighty Mommy shares four reasons that communication is crucial to parenting and how you can begin to make significant changes that will benefit your entire family.
4 Reasons Communication Is Crucial to Parenting
- Non-Verbal Cues Are Extremely Important
- Ordinary Interactions Set the Stage
- ...
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