Intro to Conscious Parenting

Unlike all traditional parenting styles, conscious parenting sees beyond the behavior. In various forms of parenting methods such as because-I-said-so parenting or behavioristic parenting, children are coerced and manipulated through punishment and reward to adopt or avoid certain behavior so that parents can feel comfortable and good about themselves.

In conscious parenting, however, the parent knows that behavior is just a symptom and merely a form of communication, and treating or manipulating the symptoms can only worsen the cause.

Before every encounter with our children, it is crucial to pause and ask ourselves:

• What will I teach my kids through my behavior if I yell, punish, bribe, or threaten?
• Do I want my kids to have the same behavior or use the exact words with a younger sibling or another person?
• Are my actions showing my kids that I am out of control and need them to be a certain way so I feel comfortable?
• Will this not teach them to do the same to me or others?
• Am I not responding to my child’s tantrum with an adult tantrum?
• Am I teaching problem-solving, decision-making, and democracy, or am I advocating dictatorship?
• Do you pause before interacting with your children and other people around you?

I have created three short videos (each less than 3 minutes) where I introduce conscious parenting and give some tips to cultivate awareness and compassion in our personal and parenting journeys: