Everyday Blessings

I borrowed Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Jon & Myla Kabat-Zinn from the library yesterday. Cimion & Shawna have a Storytelling Club there on Tuesday and Jacqueline & I use that time to take out books.

In the back of the book, they list 12 exercises for mindful parenting. The first one is:
Try to imagine the world from your child's point of view, purposefully letting go of your own. Do this everyday for at least a few moments to remind you of who this child is and what he or she faces in the world.

Another one is:
Imagine how you appear and sound from your child's point of view, i.e., having you as a parent today, in this moment. How might this modify how you carry yourself in your body and in space, how you speak, what you say. How do you want to relate to your child in this moment?

When Billy & I took our 10 week MAPP class, as part of our homestudy to adopt through the foster care system, the instructor visually and mentally helped us put ourselves in the place of a foster child. It was quite scary and most of us were affected, one even had to leave the room.

I keep that with me and I use that tool with my children now. It helps me to see past the behavior and see the child instead. It helps me when I'm getting angry and feel like yelling, to see myself as they see me.

Putting yourself in your childs shoes, will show you the world in a whole new way. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to find a new way of parenting their blessings. :-)