What I wish I knew...

We invited parents to answer two questions. Here is what they had to say.

Question 1 - What I wish I knew about parenting or working with children.

I wish I knew that sometimes it’s more important to meet my child where they are instead of where I want them to be

I wish I knew that thoughtful conversations with my teen about their substance use could go further than imposing consequences alone.

I wish I knew to trust my own instincts over the feedback from others (teachers, doctors etc who minimize concerns).

I wish I had reached out to more parents of his friends during his early school years and continued through high school.

I wish I had spent more time getting to know who she was instead of worrying about who and what she was going to become.

I wish I had known that parenting is a long game - not a short one.  I would have worried less about the day-to-day issues and worked to see how my kids were developing into good people overall.

I wish I knew how resilient my child would be.  It was always hard not to try and “fix” things to make them feel better.

Question 2 - What do I think I did/am doing right as a parent?

I think I showed her compassion.

I encouraged imagination and creativity with exposure to diverse activities (foreign language, music, theatre, sports) from a very early age: years later, he is at ease with public speaking presentations and has continued to pursue many different interests.

I'm glad that I continually try to advocate for and connect with my kids.

I stayed engaged with my teens throughout high school, I was the carpool driver! It’s amazing to hear the conversations teens have with one another.

I give/gave my kids tons of redos - especially on little things.  I assume they want to do the right thing so when they do something unkind or make a mistake, I reaffirm their goodness and give them a chance to prove themselves, complete a task, and/or make amends.  Then I tell them that I knew they were this good person and I'm proud of them.  Chances are they get the item right the next time.

I had open communication and created a space where my child appeared to feel comfortable with sharing information.