MFP 280: 12 Parenting Tips

Messy Family Podcast : Catholic Conversations on Marriage and Family

Parenting is not an inborn skill. It is something that we learn over time from trial and error and with help from others.

Summary

Over the past 28 years raising our 10 kids we have made a lot of mistakes, but also learned from them! In this podcast, we go over 12 tips that we have found make a big difference in the life of a family. They are principles that we live by and how we have gotten where we are today. None of them are rocket science - but they are things you may not have thought of before or realized how essential they are. We have released this podcast before, but now we have a new perspective since our kids are older and now we have grandkids. The great thing is, we have found that these tips still work! As you listen, make sure that you choose 1 or 2 things that you want to implement in your lives starting this week. Don’t try to do everything! Small changes over time have the biggest impact. Listen in and join the conversation!

Key Takeaways

• It is not your job to make your children into saints. It is their job to make YOU into a saint!

• You are irreplaceable. Your children will only ever have ONE mom and ONE dad. No one can do for your child what you can do.

• Your children cannot be the center of your family. They are part of a community.

• Love requires boundaries. But at the same time, remember that rules without relationship breeds rebellion.

• Children need to be taught everything. They don’t know the words to say to be respectful, or the way to respond when you ask them to do something. Do not be surprised when they don’t do what you want right away. Your job is to teach them.

Couple Discussion Questions

• Do I find it easy or hard to embrace my authority as a parent? Do I recognize my unique place in the life of my child? How would I articulate my role?

• How do I feel about my child making me into a saint? What are ways I see them teaching me how to be less selfish?

• Do we have a plan for discipline? Are we on the same page? Where do we disagree?