As parents, we live in a state of constant juggling. We are always trying to balance workload, house chores, cooking, cleaning, supporting school and extra curricular activities, the list could go on forever. Yet it seems that no matter how much we do everyday, we are constantly worrying and feeling guilty about if we doing enough for our children.
On top of ensuring they have a roof over their heads, food in their bellies and clean clothes to wear how do you know if you are meeting your child’s social-emotional needs?
Since social emotional needs are hard to measure or see unlike the pile of clothes you just folded and groceries you just bought, it can be difficult to know if your child’s social emotional cup is full. And during these busy and stressful days/times how do you fill the cup?
The simple answer to this very complex question is being emotionally present for your child. I know we are all physically there and may think we are emotionally there, but when it comes down to it with the amount of things we are trying to squeeze in and do everyday and the millions of to-do lists and thoughts taking space in our brains, are we truly present, pausing and in the moment with our child daily?
Are we actively listening to our children when they have something important to say? (and not just nodding our head and saying “uh huh” while cooking dinner and trying to send a work email).
Are we giving them compliments, hugging and telling them we love them just because?
Are we stopping our juggling at least once a day to spend 10 minutes sitting down with our child with all media off to follow their lead in imaginary play?
Did we stop to apologize to them when we snapped or yelled at them when we could have used a calm voice?
All these small tasks seem so simple, but they take time and effort that often we are lacking as busy parents. So to help you, we have this simple Parenting Chart & Daily Checklist you can save or print and post on the fridge. You can use it as a daily reminder and way to track your progress as a parent in finding ways daily to fill your child’s cup.
Parenting Chart & Daily Checklist
