Everyday Blessings

I've blogged about the book Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Jon & Myla Kabat-Zinn here and here. In the back of the book, they list 12 exercises for mindful parenting. I wrote about the first three in the other posts. The 4th one is:

4. Be mindful of your expectations of your children and consider whether they are truly in your child's best interest. Also, be aware of how you communicate those expectations and how they affect your children.

This is something I always try to keep in mind with Shawna. She's made so many positive changes in the last year and I was feeling like I was expecting her to always make the right choice and was sometimes putting to much pressure on her.

Number 5 is Practice altruism, putting the needs of your children above your own whenever possible. Then see if there isn't some common ground, where your true needs can also be met. You may be surprised at how much overlap is possible, especially if you are patient and strive for balance.