Will you have a ‘real’ Christmas this year – or are you striving for an Instagram one? 

When my three year old Grandson decorated the Christmas tree this year he put most of the decorations on the same branch (as most three year old’s do) ! As I smiled and thought how cute this was, I reflected on how different my response was when my children were little (when I couldn’t wait to make it look ‘right’ as soon as they went to bed!) 

I wish I had remembered then, that there is no such thing as a perfect parent! 

Suzanne and Ginny discuss more of this in the podcast episode – ‘Why do I always feel I am failing as a parent?’ 

We know parenting comes with pressure, some we can’t control, such as lack of sleep, but there are many things we can do to help ourselves have a more peaceful time. 

Such as: 

• Turning off social media – or remembering that what you see is often not the reality. 
• Pick your battles – and ask – does it really matter? 
• Go for a walk – being in the fresh air (away from the over stimulation inside) can really change the mood for all the family)
• Catch them being good – try to focus on the positive behaviour – it will be there if you look hard – so you encourage more of this
• Don’t say don’t – visualise what you want them to do, or the behaviour you want to see – and ask them for that

So during the Christmas holidays this year try to have a ‘real’ Christmas and ‘live’ the real memories of today before they are over! 

More positive parenting strategies can be found here: https://www.sharingparenting.com/category/strategies/