3 Common Mistakes Parents Make

As parents, we all do our best, yet we fall for the same traps over and over again! Here are three the most common mistakes we see in our practice.

Not Being Consistent

It is hard to be consistent as a parent. One day we’re saying no firmly and the next day we just let it slide. One of the reasons we do that, is because we are not always sure we are doing the right thing. Lacking confidence in our decisions makes being consistent that more difficult. Educating ourselves, and learning from experts is an excellent way to gain confidence in our choices.

Falling in the Do What I Say Not What I Do Trap

Who has never yelled at their kids « Stop screaaaaming !!! », while realizing at the same time, this was an ironical way of convincing them it’s not the best strategy. Children learn a lot by watching us, this is why modeling is a great strategy to teach and guide them.

Putting Themselves Last

It is easy as parents to feel like we could always do more for our children, and often by the end of the day, we forgot to do anything for ourselves. But taking quality time and taking care of ourselves is important for our well-being, and it also models to our children many behaviors and coping mechanism we usually want them to demonstrate (reading, cooking, going for a walk when tired or stressed, exercising, checking in, etc.).

Being confident in our choices is key to parenting more consistently, setting up a better example and respecting ourselves and our boundaries, the way we want our children to as well. By educating ourselves and learning from experts, we can easily make those mistakes less often (because we all do them!), be more effective as a parent, and spend more time to enjoy the ride, rather than questioning ourselves!