How to become a better parent in 2016

In December I tried being a stricter parent. It didn’t work for me. Instead, I wanted to start 2016 afresh, only focusing on being happy and having happy children.

To help me improve my parenting skills, I’ve received some sample cards from the 30 Days to learn Cards on How to Bring out the Best in your Children by Elaine Halligan and Melissa Hood from The Parent Practice.

I’ve realised I can’t read as many books as I would have liked, and by using the pack of 30 daily lesson cards and 17 key concept cards instead, I get the key points I need to improve my parenting skills. The cards are super easy to use, as I can glance over a card a day, which suits my busy lifestyle.

The other day I picked a key concept card about proactive parenting, and I read a daily lesson card on ‘chat throughs’, which was particularly useful now that we’re in the middle of school assessments.

I’ve been telling Big Girl about her going to play dates at big schools, and the card advised me to get her to do most of the talking when having conversations about upcoming events, which got me thinking that the conversation should probably be more along the lines of me asking her what she might see there, who she might meet, what type of toys they might have, what activities they might do in big school and so on.

At her age, I think it’s important for me to prepare her for upcoming events, and I will now make an effort to remember to chat through challenging situations in advance, including everyday situations such as leaving a play date where she’s having a lot of fun.

This is just one of the many things I’m being reminded of by using the 30 days to learn cards, and it’s become my New Year’s resolution to keep up the work. I don’t want to set myself up for failure by pretending I’m going to read a tonnes of literature on parenting, but I know I can manage to keep going with these cards and that they can help me become the parent I want to be in 2016.

The 30 Days to learn Cards on How to Bring out the Best in your Children by Elaine Halligan and Melissa Hood are available to buy online for £14.99

Tags: Being a mum, Chat throughs, Parenting, Parenting course, The Parent Practice