Laughter that never ends. Eyes that twinkle with excitement. Simple desires + needs. Unconditional love. All things we are born with. All the things every child is born with.

Our children are the starlights of our future and in our hands lies the responsibility to guide and navigate them. Through our thoughts, beliefs and actions we shape the way they see the world, the beliefs they form and the overall ability to express their emotions and ideas.

There is so much more to raising children than assuring their place in adulthood. There is our own growth as parents and guardians.

Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Doctor Marion Rose, advocate of Aware Parenting, about raising children consciously and what it means to be a conscious parent or guardian. We spoke about the nature of a child, what is childhood (both for the children and what it was for us) and how to employ more loving choices when around children.

Dr. Rose generously shared numerous Aware Parenting techniques and ways of reframing situations to create harmonious relationships with our children. Throughout this interview I felt so much gratitude for Dr Rose – for being such a powerful advocate for children and for honoring the essence of the child within us all.

What can You Do Today

to Improve all Tomorrows?

 

Practice being friendly with yourself.  The internal dialogue we have with ourselves is what how we implicitly respond to our children, even if we are trying to treat them differently. They get who we are, rather than what we are trying to give them. Being friendly with ourselves means we can congruently be loving with them, and this in turn means they internalise self-friendliness, which means listening to themselves and trusting their own inner compass.

Be less serious and have more fun. The more serious we are, the less connected we usually are with ourselves and our children, and the less of an influence we have. Children naturally learn and heal through play, and know exactly what type of play they need to release painful feelings. The more we join in with that play, whether it be letting them chase us round the house, or acting goofily, or pretending that the toothbrush brushes their hair, the more connected and relaxed we both are. Family life becomes joyful, fun and connected.

Practice “loving limits” where necessary. When children are “acting out” (hitting, biting, throwing things), they are needing help to express the fear, powerlessness and pain that lies underneath. Loving limits are designed to help stop the behaviour and help them release the painful feelings, e.g., “I won’t let you hit your brother, sweetheart, and I’m here and listening to you. Looks like you’re upset?” Loving limits have no harshness or disconnection; our loving tone and gaze helps our child feel safe enough to express her feelings through crying and raging so that she can return to her naturally loving, cooperative and gentle self.


“I have two children; 8 and 12. For more than 25 years, I’ve been fascinated in understanding why the way people are the way they are, and how we can have fulfilling and connected lives.

In my twenties I learned about babies, children, and human development, both from an academic and an emotional perspective. I did a PhD on mothers and babies at Cambridge University whilst training and practicing Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy – which understands the relationship between the soul, the personality and the Self.

I trained in HypnoBirthing whilst pregnant with my daughter, and calmbirth before conceiving my son. I fell in love with Aware Parenting from my pregnancy onwards, and became an Aware Parenting Instructor. I studied Nonviolent Communication extensively. I trained and certified with the Field Project, a consciousness-as-cause model which helps people shift core beliefs that are outpicturing in their lives.

Now in my mid-forties, I love combining all my training and experiences. I am passionate about supporting mothers to love their lives as mothers, to help all parents shift core beliefs that otherwise create pain for themselves and their children, and to help spread new ways of parenting in the world.”

Connect with Dr. Rose: Facebook | Parenting with Presence