Aware Parenting anyone?

[moogie]

I was led to this site many months back and to me it really makes sense.

http://www.awareparenting.com/english.htm#aspects
here are some of the fundamentals of it.

Aware Parenting Consists of:

Attachment-style parenting

• Natural childbirth and early bonding
• Plenty of physical contact
• Prolonged breast-feeding
• Prompt responsiveness to crying
• Sensitive attunement

Non-punitive discipline

No punishments of any kind (including spanking, "time-out", and artificial "consequences")
• No rewards or bribes
• Search for underlying needs and feelings
• Anger management for parents
• Peaceful conflict-resolution (family meetings, mediation, etc.)

heartPrevention and healing of stress and trauma

Recognition of stress and trauma as primary causes of behavioral and emotional problems
• Emphasis on prevention of stress and trauma
• Recognition of the healing effects of play, laughter, and crying in the context of a loving parent/child relationship
[li]Respectful, empathic listening and acceptance of children's emotions

Any comment. it makes sense to me.

[kokonutmama]

Aw, I don't know moogie, it sounds like an awful lot of work! 

Sorry, I couldn't resist.  Everything on that list sounds like something I'd like to aspire to in my parenting.  Good find.

[moogie]

I know what you mean.  stuff to aspire to.

[tristan]

Aware Parenting is an interesting concept considering 'aware' is something that most of us are not! Are you truely aware of your environment on a moment by moment basis. The answer is probably not. Consider the feeling of stopping and becoming 'aware'. Think about what that feels like. For me, that means I realise space, time, sounds, movement, and everything else that is going on around me that I had been oblivious to while caught up in the moment. When I say caught up in the moment it is really about being caught up in 'me'. When we become more aware we take into account other peoples thoughts, feeling, actions and requirements and can predict and anticipate better.

It is a concept I know as mindfulness. Being aware and staying in the moment, not the future or the past and not deeply focused on the task at hand so everything else is lost.

I realise some may think this is a bit of a stir, but I would be interested to hear what other people think about it. And on how you play and interact with your children on a moment by moment basis. This is very much linked to what mamabean said about connecting with your child, looking them in the eyes and realising the now.

[kokonutmama]

I've often thought about mindfulness in parenting.  Well, in everything.  I seem to have two modes, and neither one of them is particularly good for dealing with kids, as I've noticed in my teaching experiences.  One mode is all action, no thought, and the other is all thought.  A perfect example of why neither is good for parenting happened this morning.  Kody was running around in his new BabyLegs and sweater without any undies on.  I thought it was hilareous, so I grabbed my camera and started chasing him around the house (all action).  He wasn't really posing well, so I lowered the camera and just watched him (all thought now) while he made a definate "I've gotta pee" noise.  I thought to myself "Huh, he's going to pee now.  It's going to go on the floor."  Did I take him to the potty?  Nope, just watched him watch the pee splash on the tile.
When I do things like this it reminds me of a story my meditation teacher told us about the monk who was meditating while his house caught fire.  He just sat there "smelling smoke, smelling smoke, smelling smoke" until someone came and got him.
There's that balance that's important to find.