An Article by Helen R William
Helen is the Editor at Consistent Parenting Advice.com
Her site addresses HOW to adopt a firm, clear, consistent parenting approach, while enabling you to enhance and increase your emotional well-being.
I believe that being a consistent parent is both vitally important and totally necessary to ensure a happy family life.
Spiritual Parenting helps your children to affirm their innate sense of truth.
The core of your child's being is his spirituality. From here grows his sense of self esteem and the values and morals which bring his sense of belonging.
Spiritual Parenting allows you to nurture your child's spirituality by creating magic through dancing, music and nature, and through sharing feelings and imagination.Here's how to embrace your child's spirituality
Music
Sing together often. Use music cd's, dvd's, instruments, pot lids, the sound of the wind, rain drumming on the roof, your voices, concerts, community events. Sing while you walk, bath, cook, clean and play. Make up songs, create nonsense rhymes and tunes, sing the words of favourite books instead of reading them.
Dance
Dance with your children often - through this glorious experience children learn about the joy of music and movement. Be a mirror to your child through your own sense of delighting in dance.
Imagination
Open your child up to beauty and wonder by endowing the daily routine with peace and magic. Reveal this through loving guidance, through imaginative play and through your words, actions, songs and joy.
Nature
Go out often into nature through the changing seasons. Let your child get wet in puddles, skip together instead of walking, stop often to notice a different smell, make sure that you yourself delight in the marvel of the great outdoors. Learn together the names of plants and trees and delight in each others knowledge. Set up a nature table at home where new discoveries can be invited and encouraged.
Feelings
Teach your children to name their feelings by acknowledging and naming your own. "I'm feeling sad right now. That makes me feel very happy. I feel upset. I feel surprised". "I feel" statements will encourage your children to come up with their own, thus creating a healthy and wholesome sense of self. Ask them often, "How does that make you feel?" Listen to your child as well as talking with him. This validates not only his sense of self, but allows for the growth of his intuitive self. Really listen for what he is saying and show him that you hear.
Magic
Show your child that life is magical, enchanting, rich and astonishing by creating unexpected pockets of surprise for them. Spiritual parenting helps your child cope well with change in life by giving life a mystical quality instead of a fearful approach. This enables a sense of adventure. Years later my two eldest children still talk about the time their father woke them up at midnight, and then took them in their pyjamas on a car ride to see the first lights on the village Christmas tree. By creating a magical adventure through his own infectious joy, their father gave them an opportunity to extend their own inner magic through his spiritual parenting approach.
Silence
Don't be afraid to teach them about the beauty of silence. Encourage your young children to enjoy undisturbed quiet moments in your company. Show them by enjoying moments of silence in their presence, sitting quietly with your eyes closed. Teach them the value of walking together without talking. This is how they learn to feel their own inner peace.
Cherishing
Cherish them with physical affection, with words of love, with little gifts of flowers, unusual finds in the garden, written notes and through reading, playing and singing together. Give them your undivided time and attention when you are walking with them, encouraging them to talk about their day, their friends, their hopes and dreams and encourage, encourage, encourage.
Bedtime
Create bedtime rituals that focus on the special nature of each of your children. Settle them into sleep feeling nourished, cherished and special. Try telling them "I love you today because..." and add a new reason for every night. Spiritual parenting in this way is a calm, child centred approach.
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