Personal Narrative-Level Parenting

I constantly find my self nagging my children to pick up books, putting dirty close where they belong, stopping talking with their mouths full and all of the usual parenting things that get repeated over and over. One particular source of frustration are shoes and putting them where they belong. Even after building a very fancy shoe rack in the garage, my children just could not find a better place to put their shoes, other than where they took them off. One day I asked my son why it was so hard to put his shoes on the rack and he simply said; “Why do I have to put my shoes away if you and mommy don't have to”? He then pointed near the front door where I noticed two pairs of sandals, one belonging to me and the other belonging to my wife. After wiping away the embarrassment, I told him that was a very good point and that we can all work on putting our shoes on the rack.
Observations and reflections …show more content…
Having the ability to transfer that learned skill into an action plan, specifically by controlling my temper, would be master level parenting in my world. While in the moment of changing diapers and trying to wrangle a fired up child desperately in need of a new diaper, taking a deep breath and slowing everything down did not occur to me. The loss of patience and frustration was a direct result of not being good at something and losing control of such a little person. Being out of control or not being to control a situation is something I have, and will probably struggle with all of my life. Remembering that exact moment, what stood out most was the immediate flood of emotions and shame that I acted out in anger and frustration. Had I been able to take a deep breath, realize my son was just having a fun, with no ill intentions of hurting me, I may very well have matured many years as a