Parenting Thoughts

We all have hot buttons.

We all need to examine those buttons so we can turn them off and not let them affect what opportunities we provide our children. We can’t ever make them completely go away – and don’t want to. They make us who we are. They tell us things we need to know. But, when necessary we can keep them silent if we are very clear about what they are and what they look like and sound like.

Parents in particular may find these “hot buttons” related to certain ages and stages of their children. Maybe you do really well with infants. You love the softness and cuddling of taking care of babies. But, don’t like so much the no-saying stage, or the life-is-not-fair stage, or the teenage fascination with sexuality stage. At these points, you are uncomfortable. You would rather skip that part of parenting all together and not deal with those issues at all. If you ever feel that way, your hot buttons are probably working overtime.

You can learn how to handle the child behaviors that give you special trouble:

• Search those behaviors at www.picturebookparenting.com.

• Talk with other adults you trust about how they handle or did handle those behaviors.

• Be confident that difficult behaviors will pass. Most likely, child behaviors that you enjoy are right around the corner as your child grows and matures into his next stage.

Inspired by IGGY PECK, ARCHITECT by Andrea Beaty

For more information about children’s talents:  Your Child’s Special Talents, Part 3