Spiritual Parenting

[dECLAN]

My wife and I had a rare night out last night and left our two young children with their grandpa for the night. We awoke to a very quiet house and for some reason the absence of my children got me thinking about how I parent. Perhaps it was the fact that a lot of parenting is really done on autopilot.

I do spend a lot of time with my older daughter talking about God and other things of a spiritual nature. She is just at the age where she understands these things and we often have very enlightening talks.

Occasionally I may ask her question like where flowers get their color from or how she thinks she came into the world. I am always filled with wonder and amazement at her answers.

I suppose I wanted to ask the question of other parents about conscious parenting and any realizations you received through your children.

[openeyes]

I'm years from having kids of my own (if I ever do), but, I came across the field of attachment parenting several years ago and like the concept very much. Google it if you've never heard of it. To me it very much fits the ideal of conscious parenting, with waterbirthing, home birth, breastfeeding, the family bed, homeschooling, and so on all potentially falling into the mix.

[Akashic_Librarian]

Tell the truth. Thats the advice I would give. Your Kids will love you for it.

[dcaldwell]

Openeyes, we do all of those (minus the water-birth, 'cause it took too long to blow up before she gave birth).

My wife and I have 5 kids ranging 5 months to 8 years. We've followed attachment parenting from the start and homeschool (using a Latin-centered non-religious curriculum) the older two. I've found children are a lot wiser about relationships than you think and they mimic your (or television characters) behaviors more than you think. I tend to tell the blunt truth about everything, regardless of their age. We've had some very interesting conversations about death and God and the nature of nature. I've also found even though they may ask a question, in the younger years that question isn't aligned with their intent, so it's often best to probe a bit. We teach them creativity is everything and to speak out when they feel something isn't right. It's amazing the insights they reveal when they feel you're not distracted and open enough to receive it.