My A to Z Of Parenting (and how I have survived so far)

Part two of my A to Z list of "my parenting journey" took a little more thought to put together. If you didn't get the chance to read part one, you can find it here
Parenting has at times been difficult, overwhelming and had me at a loss more then once. I have spent countless hours laughing at myself and my unskilled parenting, countless hours crying my eyes out at my parenting failures, and countless hours wishing that at certain times I had done things differently.
But in the end, when all is said and done, my boys have grown into responsible young men that have made me so very proud.

So could I have done a few things right along this journey after all ?

K is for key
The "key" to parenting is lots of patience. Something that I have had to work on since my boys became teens. It's funny how with each step of parenting the rules and regulations seem to change as much as the growth of our children. There are plenty of books out that attempt to show you exactly the right road to travel, and offer all sorts of advice that does help to some extent, but when it comes time to put these words into action I found that trusting my own instincts was far better then to rely on other peoples.

L is for love
Without "love" we can not function. Love is the most vital key between a parent and child. Sometimes I think that I smother my kids with affection, but I cant help myself, ever since the day I first became a mum, my boys have been the center of my world.
Have I embarrassed them ? Heck yeah : ) but that is a mothers right.

M is for marathon
Parenting is like running a marathon that is all up hill, it can make you short of breathe and oh so tired, but the reward is SO worth it in the end.

N is for noisy
Holy heck boys make a lot of "noise" it started of with loud renditions of The Wiggles and Barney The Dinosaur, and has continued with loud Rock and Rap (what are they really "rapping" about ?) and the aggravating noise of the play station.......I really need to get back into meditation and yoga to bring back some peace to my world, however I know that when all my chirping birds fly I will miss them more then words can say (even their noise I'm sure)

O is for open
In our home we encourage our boys to be open with us, we tell them often that we are there for them and that they can come to us with anything....it can be daunting to talk about some things, and they may choose not to, but at least they are aware that we are always there for them and can come to us with anything if they need to. An open relationship between parents and kids is vital.

P is for priority
My boys are my "priority" it saddens me to see kids that are pushed aside, and lack parental guidance. Becoming a parent in my book means that your children and their welfare comes first and everything else is second to that.

Q is for quality
Quality time spent with your kids at any age is important. No matter if its a walk, time spent kicking a ball or going out to dinner as a family, showing unity and laughing together is a way to keep communication open and a family close together.

R is for respect
"Respect" is a two way street in parenting. To gain respect from my boys, I have learnt that I must respect them in the same way. It doesn't mean that I am not in control and don't demand to know things that are going on in their lives, but some things are best discussed in private without an audience, I do not attempt to go through their phones or personal things. I do however expect them to befriend me on face book, twitter and instagram so that I am able to keep a check on their online activities. I am aware that I do not in anyway know everything that goes on in my sons lives, but that is I guess where respect and trust comes into it.

Part three and the final post will be published tomorrow : )