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August 7, 2007
parenting 101 - week two
Tonight was the second parenting class, and it was even better than last week. The main focus was on the "Think - Feel - Do" cycle and the role parents can play with encouragement and praise. I do not do as well as I could (and should) in either of those areas, so this class was very enlightening for me. It's way too easy to overlook the positive, the progress, and the effort they're putting in.
The instructor also emphasized that pointing out people's mistakes very rarely causes them to learn from that. More often than not, she said it makes them feel criticized and frustrated, and eventually they give up. The better way to approach things is buy point out the areas they excel in or where you see improvement in, help motivate them to live up to a higher standard of doing things. This, again, is an area that I can improve in because I have a tendency to point out the mistakes instead of focusing on the way they are reacting to their mistakes, whether or not they take responsibility for and learning from it.
It's easy to slip into the mindset of "I'm a failure, I don't do this, or this, or this..." but I'm trying to view the areas I could use improvement in as just that - areas where I can do better instead of thinking of them as areas where I am a complete failure.
Posted by oracle at August 7, 2007 10:07 PM in learning / the fourth year
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