Kids sure don’t come with an instruction manual, and even trying to raise your kids the way that popular author or blogger everyone raves about may just not seem to work for you! I was so skeptical when I read yet another parenting book that only gave me one way to approach every kid. I had FOUR, and they certainly responded differently to that supposed “one size fits all” type of parenting,
I used to try to parent each of my kids “the same” because I surely did not want to be told, by anyone, that I wasn’t being “fair.” Culture – and maybe even your mom friends, or your mother-in-law can be very good at heaping on the guilt. But the deal is – each one of these amazing kiddos are NOT the same. They react differently to, well, lots of things, and this can be confusing!
I love the example my friend, Sonja, gave concerning the uniqueness of our kids. She should know. She has taught elementary kids and piano students for decades. (If I ever need a teaching tip – she is my source). She likened them to something sweet – CAKE! She pictured this plain white frosted cake. Then she likened kids to cupcakes. You wouldn’t just frost them all the same, because each one, just as they would most likely choose different colors and sprinkles, each of our kids is different and displays their own character, their own style. Each kid needs their own All Done Day plan that will fit their uniqueness and add their “frosting”.
When the All Done Day plan came together for our family, we designed it with three things in mind. 1) We, the parents, decided what were important character traits, and skills to learn. 2) We studied our kids to see what motivated them, and 3) We figured out what incentives they would work for. We put it together and OH MY GOODNESS – it worked!
All Done Day; How to Win at Everyday Parenting walks you through how to enjoy your little cupcakes and watch them own their own successes! You CAN have your cake and eat it too.
