You know that quote, “I was the perfect parent before I had kids”?

Well...this may be my favorite parenting quote. 

Before having kids, I thought I had it all figured out. 

• I was going to be gentle with my kids, yet make sure they listened.
• I was going to empower them with my words and never quilt or shame them.
• I was going to teach and not punish.
• And, I was going to do it with a smile on my face.

Then I had kids and they became toddlers and my words weren’t always kind, my temper wasn’t always managed, and there were a lot of tears and frustrations (from my kids and me)! 

I no longer felt like the perfect parent. And some days, not even an adequate one.

When you first become a parent, you parent from your own experiences and what you think is best and then you realize you’re parenting real human beings, with real feelings, independence, and perspectives. And stuff starts to get hard. 

Before I go into our topic on Gentle Parenting,

I want you to know (something that has taken me a long time to take to heart), that you are enough right now. The only thing we can do is parent the best we know how right now and let God fill in the gaps.

So when you listen to this week’s episode of The Simple Home Podcast, listen with an open mind, but have grace for yourself! Rachel from Sage Family teaches us how to use gentle parenting as a way to connect with our kids, discipline with compassion, and raise happy, healthy, families. This is one parenting strategy that I’ve found great success with and I hope it gives you some new strategies and encouragement as well.

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Links from this episode

• The Bucket System- I use and love this says a way to keep my kids and myself responsible for what we need and want to get done each day. This system keeps me from reminding and nagging my kids all day long which helps build our relationship and fosters independence. 
• Rachelraindbolt.com- Sage Family books, resources, courses, and more. 
• Sage Family Podcast
• 12 Secrets to Keep Calm and Collected
• Rachel on IG

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