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Parenting

Essential Parenting Advice: Sometimes Silence, Prayer Works

Posted byBy ABS Contributor | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
Photo Credit: grekei via flickr

Recently I asked Facebook friends, “What’s the best, most resonant piece of parenting advice you have ever received?”

I got some great responses, mostly having to do with making choices that work for you and your family and filtering out the advice of well-meaning family, friends and ‘experts’ who might not have a clear understanding of your situation.

Although excellent advice, I’ve often had problems implementing it. Being an anxious person by nature, I’m plagued by self-doubt and worry as I navigate the choppy waters of parenting. In other words — I have a hard time trusting myself.

That may be precisely why a different piece of advice really caught my attention. I’ve been ruminating on it for weeks now.

There comes a time when you just need to shut up and pray.

(For those of you who aren’t comfortable with praying, you can shut up and breathe instead.)

Folks in the mindfulness world like to point out that we are ‘human beings’ not ‘human doings,’ and that we function at our best when we find time to just be.Yet, everything in the parenting world seems to be pulling me away from just being.

When my girls were infants, I felt compelled to talk or read to them almost constantly  to build their verbal skills and literacy. I spent their naptimes or quiet playtime cleaning or cooking or researching Mommy and Me classes and preschool programs. When I wasn’t prepping or planning, I was reading the latest research and advice on whatever parenting problem I was struggling with, from breastfeeding and potty training to tantrums and picky eating…

Read More: Carla Naumburg, psychcentral.com

 

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