Patience is probably the key skill that a parent needs to master when it comes to dealing with kids. It always seems so simple and easy to lose patience, and yet so difficult and sometimes almost impossible to find more of it. Here’s some help…
Communicate: Poor communication sabotages any relationship. Talk, explain, report, and discuss your day-to-day happenings, just as you expect them to. Communicate to them in a language they can comprehend. Communicate to them in a language they can learn life’s wise sayings.
Have Foresight: Reduce your pace so as to keep up with your toddlers. Find workarounds which allows you to have it their way as well as yours. If your kid insists on tying his own shoe laces, and in the morning rush hours you have no time for this insistence, ask your child to continue tying the laces while you drive him to school.
Stay Cool and Calm: Well, we are talking about patience, so staying cool and calm comes without saying. The key to staying cool and calm is not to react in the moment, if you tend to react in the moment, you can easily be carried away by frustration. Back off, think through the topic, and decide what you can say and do, and then do it. Set aside some time when you can composedly let your child know what you feel, and why you feel so.
Keep Real Expectations: Gary Walters, a psychology professor, says our expectations about behavior can be out of line with what our children are capable of developing mentally. Do not force your expectations on your children, in turn reducing their self-confidence and increasing the feeling of insecurity.
Give Them Space: If children insist on performing certain actions that are against your wishes, express to them the pros and cons of the action, and then give them some space to think calmly what you mean and expect. Expressing and explaining topics to children breed better results as compared to forcing them to perform as you would want them to. A parent needs to be strict to a certain extent, but forcing your opinions on children can yield unwanted results, such as children becoming rebellious.
Remember, how you express your irritation and anger teaches your children about managing and organizing their own feelings and relationships. Help yourself to help your children. Think about the times when we deal with patience with our coworkers or with new acquaintances. If we have the ability and capability to bear such patience, then why do we choose to lose it with our loved ones? Teachings that are taught with patience help children learn thoroughly and quickly.
