The solution to your parenting troubles might be being more deliberate.
We often use certain words to describe people, right? She’s intentional, she’s kind, or she’s determined. Well, there is one word we don’t often call on.
Rebecca Fredrick thinks we should all be more deliberate. Especially in our parenting, and especially this summer.
The Importance of Deliberate Parenting
Rebecca believes it is the answer to many parenting troubles that we face. “Deliberate parenting matters. It’s interesting because we live in a day and age where there’s so many distractions. Opportunities are wonderful and we are so blessed as women to have more of them than we ever have. But with opportunity comes distraction.”
Rebecca believes that in today’s world, parents sometimes feel that they should be able to get whatever they want, whenever they want it. There’s this idea that social connections are more important than family bonds, or if we put our children in a hundred extracurricular activities, it will increase their confidence. “Or that we personally need to save the world or create a brand before nurturing our own families. I think that we often times overwork ourselves, and we overcomplicate our lives. That takes away from deliberate parenting.”
“What’s right for one mom might not be right for the other,” Rebecca went on to explain, “but I think that there’s no question that deliberate parenting helps raise confident children and creates security in the home.”
The Deliberate Mom Decides Before It Happens
“Motherhood is a roller coaster. I think there are ups and there’s downs and there’s twists and turns, and life can literally take you for a ride. I think that you have to decide early on what matters to you and your family.” Rebecca encouraged moms to make decisions based on their family values. Let your values guide you as you move through the craziness of life.
The Deliberate Mom Sprinkles in Drops of Joy
“Years ago, a woman in Seattle wrote a blog post and it went viral. It was called ‘Drops of Awesome,” Rebecca said, “The principle is every kind, positive, happy, productive thing you do for a child or any family member is a drop in this bucket of awesome. The goal is to fill up that bucket by the time they leave home so that they know how loved and admired and appreciated they are.”
These drops are simple things. Like, scratching their back before bed, showing up to the basketball game, or giving them a high five after they accomplish something small.
The Deliberate Mom Knows That Time Trumps Everything
“Time matters more than anything else, and it’s not quality. It’s quantity.”
Rebecca’s mother-in-law used to say, “If you spend a lot of time with your kids when they’re young, they will spend a lot of time with you when it matters most.” It’s a sentiment Rebecca whole-heartedly believes.
Find more inspiration from Rebecca on Instagram, @rfredrickandco.
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