Are You A Positive Parent?

By The Schoolmarm
August 27, 2009

Dad and Jack were talking before the t-ball game.

Jack blurted out, “We’re gonna lose!”

Dad said, ” Son, you need to be more positive.”

Jack agreed, ” I’m positive we’re gonna lose!”

Okay, that story is so old that Jack is probably a grandfather by now, but it helps to make the point that we don’t always understand how to think in a positive way.

Many people approach situations from fear, and fear fosters negative thinking.  Expecting the worst perhaps is a vain effort to prepare oneself for the worst.  Anyway, it is far from life affirming.

How about you?  How do you approach daily events in your life?  Do you speak to your children from a positive or negative point of view?  Have you ever stopped to think how you sound to your kids?

For a little exercise, how could you restate these three sentences to make them more positive?

• Don’t even think of turning on that TV until your homework is done!
• If you don’t eat your green beans then forget about having the dessert!
• Why don’t you ever find your shoes before we get ready to leave?

How’d you do?  Did you think of better ways to say the same thing?  Were yours similar to mine?

• After your homework is done you can watch some TV.
• Finish your green beans so you can have some dessert.
• I really like it when you find your shoes before we get ready to leave.

It takes practicing self control to think before making threatening, or demeaning statements. You can’t un-ring a bell, and harsh words can be carried for years. Can you think of something hurtful someone said to you when you were just a kid?  I can too.

Try a more positive approach.  Censor yourself until you learn to accentuate the positive. It will make a difference in the way you feel, too.

Source: Bing Note

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com