ABCs of Parenting According to Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman
Being a parent is a tough job – I am sure most of you will agree with me on that. It does have its wonderful moments that cannot be replaced by anything else but the fact remains that there are days which are going to try the most patient person. There are days when the stress will seem to be too much too bear. I ran across a post from Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman which presents the ABCs of parenting. Now I would be the last person to simplify things to match the alphabet, to be honest – parenting is so much more than ABC – but I really found this list helpful. Allow me to share some of the letters of the alphabet and how they can help parents take on the challenges of their lives.
A- Accept the things you can not change: Single parenting? Step parenting? ADHD parenting? Just dealing with time crunches, making lunches, bunches and bunches of bills? It’s important to recognize that there are some things you can not control, surrender, move on.
B- Breathe: When things get hairy, scary, and you feel like you can barely hold on, take a step back, breathe, and be calm.
C- Count your blessings. Even though you have the weight of the world on you right now and feel far from compassionate for others who have things much worse than you do, there is some value in taking a moment to look at the things that are going right today, such as your child’s tantrum-free morning or how your spouse took out the trash…
All these three things, I find difficult, especially when faced with seemingly insurmountable things. Yet, I realize that they can indeed help me become more efficient and loving at the same time. I hope you see things the same way as well.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:31 am
Funny, I had the exact same take on her article at first, immediately thought it would be a contrived ‘roll of the eyes’ for me, but it was a comforting, clever post…(I need to work on “A” for starters!)
At Shaping Youth we deal with media & marketing’s impact on kids, (positive picks/damaging drek & all kinds of stuff in between) so I’m thinking a ‘content swap’ might be a refreshing fit for us, since she’s clearly a solid writer and our audience has substantial crossover…
Anyway, thanks for this; I’ll check out some of your great resources here too, as your blogroll echoes many in my ‘reader’ as well, so I’ll no doubt appreciate some of your picks I haven’t yet discovered based on our similar taste…
March 15th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Thank you for the nice post on my parenting article! I agree that parenting and stress management can be complicated and certainly takes more than just a few ABCs. However, just as Amy (Shaping Youth) and you say here, we have to master some of these basics in order to deal with some of the crazier things life throws at us– and this list certainly hits on some whoppers we all need to remember, don’t you think?
I received some beautiful responses from parents who read this article and posted it up in their homes to remind them to take a few moments for themselves, breath, and remember, this too shall pass. Here is one of my favorite responses:
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Dear Dr. Robyn,
I would just like to take a moment to thank you for your great article in the Bay State Parent, September edition.
I have two children, one on the Autism Spectrum (Aspger’s), and another with ADHD.
For over 8 years, I have been defending, advocating, and doing whatever is possible to help my children to not feel like they have a “problem” but that they are unique and special in their own ways.
I read your article, and laughed and shed a few tears as I read it, because not a day goes by that I wonder what can I do to make things better, and how can I balance both of the challenges they have without the other feeling like they do not have my undivided time.
I also went on to your website, and found your program to be one that I will like to be able to tryout. At this time, the only computer access that I have is through my work, so I am hoping down the road I will be able to be a part of it.
In the meantime, I would just like to thank you for a informative, and honest look at something every parent faces daily. I look forward to being a part of your success in the near future.
Thank you, again for letting me share this with you.
Sincerely,
Robyn Y, Clinton, MA
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Please come visit the blog again– thanks for the work you do!
Dr. Robyn Silverman
March 15th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Dr. Robyn…that letter was absolutely lovely and indicative of how what may seem ‘trite’ at first ‘translates’ so well to so many…thank YOU for all the work YOU do!!! –Amy
March 16th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Dr. Robyn,
Your work is inspirational. It is our pleasure to share it with other people. Thank YOU!
March 16th, 2008 at 3:01 am
Thanks Lara– Just let me know about any topics that your readers really want to know about and perhaps I can help.
I appreciate the Kudos!
Best regards,
Dr. Robyn
November 11th, 2008 at 12:49 am
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