New Ebook! Connected Parenting Week by Week

Hi everyone!  Just a quick note to share my new ebook, Connected Parenting Week by Week: 52 Challenges for Parents Who Want to Grow.

This ebook is a complilation of the weekly challenges I have been posting as part of the One Thing Wednesday initiative I created for my Facebook page in 2016.  Each week I posted a simple challenge for parents, so that growth could be fostered in small yet achievable steps over the course of the year.

Here are some examples of the challenges for those interested:

Challenge 17: Get down to your child’s level

Imagine a giant is constantly giving you directions all day. He has a booming voice and towers over you, even if he doesn’t mean to. He can do everything you can’t (like reach the top shelf), and he gets to make all the decisions (like where you go during the day). Sometimes you feel like ignoring him and doing your own thing!  If you have a small child, I imagine this scenario depicts how they might feel sometimes. One way to connect with our children is to get down to our child’s level. When we kneel down or sit on the floor to play a game together, they can look into our eyes and we can speak directly to each other versus one person looking up and one person looking down. Try it this week and see how it shifts the dynamics in your conversation. Does it make for more “equal” interactions?

Challenge 35: Observe patterns in behaviour

One of most helpful things I have done as a parent is to identify patterns in my children to figure out how I can best support them. For example, one of my children (like myself) must eat breakfast soon after waking up or he gets very grumpy. Keeping this in mind reminds me not to get distracted and to get him food before I start on other tasks. One becomes very silly around bedtime and tends to provoke his sibling. Knowing this helps me prevent an unnecessary clash every evening. Noticing little patterns like this helps our day go more smoothly. I’m always on the lookout for changes (and yes kids do grow and change their ways, so it’s not wise to “hold onto” things either!). Would you like to challenge yourself to give it a try this week?

Challenge 43: Share memories from your child’s babyhood

Do you ever tell your child the story of when they were born, or share what they were like as a baby?  Do they know some of the cute things they said or did as a toddler, or perhaps their favourite game?  Telling stories of babyhood can help you connect with your little one and let them know just how much they were loved and cherished when they first came into the world.  It can also help you remember the beautiful times of getting to know your baby, figuring out their personality, and feeling those rushes of unconditional love which bind us forever to our children.  See if there’s a time this week when it would be fun to tell stories and notice how your child responds.

The challenges received great feedback in terms of content but some people were disappointed that they did not always see the challenges in their Facebook newsfeed and I was asked to create another format for the challenges so they could access them on their own terms.

This ebook is the result of that feedback I received and I hope those who think this type of resource would be a useful tool will enjoy using it in the coming year!

I also added a checklist and tips for keeping up with the challenge for those who needed that extra bit of support.

If you are interested in reading more about the ebook, you can learn more on this page.  To check out all my ebooks, workshops and other resources for sale, go here!

As always, thanks for supporting my work.  I’m honoured you are here and part of the Moments A Day community.

Take care!

Chelsea