The Challenges of Single Parenting
Having worked with parents for the last 35 years and written books on parenting and relationships, I've discovered that one of the greatest challenges for us as parents is to be loving role-models for our children, showing our children through our behavior how to take personal responsibility for their own feelings and needs. Our children need to learn from our role-modeling how to nurture themselves within and how to create a sense of safety in the world. In families where both a mother and father are present, both parents can participate in nurturing the child emotionally and taking care of the child in the world, and both parents can role-model what it looks like to do this for themselves. Single parents have a far greater challenge - they have to be both mother and father to the child. Mothering energy is that energy that nurtures while fathering energy is that energy that protects in the world - that is, earning money, setting boundaries with others, speaking up for oneself. While our society often defines women as the nurturers and men as the protectors, both men and women are capable of both nurturing and protecting in the world. In order for a single parent to successfully be both mother and father, he or she must have learned how to be both mother and father to the Child within. In other words, we have to have learned how to nurture our own Inner Child - how to take responsibility for our own fears, pain, anger, hurt, and disappointment, and how to take care of our Inner Child in the world - earn money, set boundaries, and so on. There is no way to successfully teach our children these skills until we are doing them ourselves, which means that each of us needs to be in a process of learning how to do this. We have developed a process that teaches us how to care for and nurture ourselves, while also loving others. This process, called Inner Bonding, teaches us how to become a loving Adult to our own Inner Child and to our actual children. Inner Bonding is a six-step psychospiritual process that can be learned and practiced daily, and that leads to the development of a spiritually-connected loving inner Adult. Inner Bonding defines the Inner Child as our core self, who we are when we are born - our natural creativity, intuition, playfulness, imagination, talents, feelings, and ability to love. Our Child is our inner experience. Our Adult is everything we learn after we are born. It is our thoughts, beliefs, and ability to take action. We start learning how to be an Adult from the moment we are born through watching our parents and other caregivers. The Adult we learn to be is a child-adult, the part of us that learned many fears and false beliefs and learned addictive ways, such as using substances, TV, spending, anger, or compliance to avoid pain. A true loving Adult is that part of us that is spiritually connected to a Higher Source of truth and love and is able to bring that truth and love down into the Child and share it with others. The adult many of us operate from most of the time is really a wounded child masquerading as an adult. It is our unhealed wounded self that causes us problems with ourselves and our children. Inner Bonding is a process for healing the wounded self and developing a spiritually-connected loving Adult. In Inner Bonding, there are only two possible intents at any given moment: the intent to learn about love and the intent to protect against and avoid pain. The intent to learn says that we want to learn about our own pain in order to understand what we need to do to be loving to our Inner Child and others; The intent to protect says that we want to avoid experiencing our pain at all cost. The child-adult is always in the intent to protect and the loving Adult is always in the intent to learn. The six-steps of Inner Bonding are: 1. The willingness to become aware of our pain rather than protect against it with our various addictions. 2. The conscious decision to move into the intent to learn. 3. Dialoguing with our wounded self to discover the false beliefs and resulting behavior behind the pain. Releasing anger and pain in appropriate ways. 4. Dialoguing with our Higher Power to learn about truth and loving behavior. 5. Taking loving action in behalf or our Inner Child. 6. Evaluating the action. All parents needs to be in a process of healing themselves. It is particularly important for single parents to be in this process since they are the primary role-models for their children. The more you heal the fears and false beliefs of your wounded self, the more loving you will naturally be with yourself and your children. Learning to utilize these six step throughout the day, especially in times of anger, fear, anxiety and stress, will eventually heal the false beliefs leading to these difficult feelings. About The Author Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?" She is the co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com or mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com. Phone sessions available. margaret@innerbonding.com
   
MORE RESOURCES:
Outdoor yogaBay Windows, MA - 1 hour agooutdoor yoga Join the folks of Keshet, the social and support group for Jewish LGBTs, for some trailside trances. After a scenic hike through the Blue Hills ... |
The Medicinal Powers Of YogaSify, India - 22 hours agoBut medical research that's been accumulating over the past 10 to 15 years is showing that yoga can provide health benefits that many people may not realize ... |
Five minutes with: Vicki Rickard, yoga instructorHilton Head Island Packet, SC - 1 hour agoBy JUSTIN PAPROCKI Photo: Yoga instructor Vicki Rickard, a co-host of WHHI's TV showHip Yoga, will be holding a free oceanfront yoga session from 4 to 5:30 ... |
YOGA IN LOS OLIVOSSanta Ynez Valley Journal, ca - 12 hours agoBy Wendy Thompson, Staff Writer You could say that Satchidananda made them do it — spread the joy and health benefits of yoga, that is. ... |
Yoga workshop to benefit college studentsdigitalBURG.com, MO - 10 hours ago"The Art of Yoga," a workshop teaching basic yoga practices, is coming to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Sept. 13 from 9 am to noon. ... |
Yoga InstructorsSeattle Post Intelligencer - Sep 3, 2008PRO Sports Club is the world's largest health club dedicated to unparalleled fitness, total luxury and expert advice. We are seeking only "top-notch" ... |
Yoga helps keep mind, body in shapeThe Times-Picayune - NOLA.com, LA - 13 hours agoBy Melinda Morris Everyone knows that yoga can reduce stress and increase flexibility. But Dawn Lauland, a certified yoga instructor, said it can improve ... |
Yoga - Google News
|
 |
 |
 |
RELATED ARTICLES
Natural Disasters: Help Your Child Cope With The Anxiety
How on earth can you help your family cope with the anxietyand fear that natural disasters strike into the heart ofeveryone?In early 2005, for example, the world was rocked by thetsunami in South East Asia that killed thousands and leftmany homeless and orphaned.Yet, at the Edinburgh International Festival yesterday I sawa group of Sri Lankan children, all victims of this naturaldisaster, perform a dance routine based on a play byShakespeare.
Vision: 20/20 Is Not Enough!
Now is an excellent time to have your child's vision checked. Don't be too quick to say, "My child's vision is fine: 20/20!" In many cases that is not enough.
6 Signs You're A High Maintenance Parent
The children of Baby Boomers, the Echo Generation, are entering college in increasing numbers. Getting into the best schools is increasingly competitive.
The Science of Mother Love
A growing body of scientific evidence shows that the way babies are cared for by their mothers will determine not only their emotional development, but the biological development of the child's brain and central nervous system as well. The nature of love, and how the capacity to love develops, has become the subject of scientific study over the last decade.
Income that PAYS Your Child Support WITHOUT Increasing Your Child Support
Child support is defined as that part of your income you would spend on your children if they lived with you. Custodial parents do not pay child support, because it is assumed that they are spending money on the children, either directly (clothes, entertainment, etc.
Every Mom Worries
Sitterphobe "I never have a second to myself," this mother tells you (and tells you and tells you). You agree, judging by her slightly frazzled demeanor, that she could use a break.
Winning The Whining War
Jason Meridith's two-year old son whines when he wants more juice. Brenda Kreuger's eight-year old daughter whines about having to take piano lessons.
Top 50 Mom Quotations
"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother."-- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me.
Hearing Our Seriously Distressed Children
How do we deal with our seriously distressed children and adolescents?Adolescents are in a period of seeking autonomy and self-determination. These qualities can aid them in becoming agents of active transformation in their own lives.
Communication Mistakes Parents Often Make - And Easy Ways To Correct Them
As parents, we love our children and want to do the best for them. At times, however, the pressures of living every day create stress and distractions for all of us.
Partnering With Your Daycare or Preschool
For the most positive daycare experience for your child, partner with your childcare center and make a personal investment beyond the monthly tuition. You can build your partnership with your daycare by volunteering your time, contributing goods or services, or donating money.
Now, Theyre Bullying My Daughter In Our Home: Welcome To Cyber-Bullying
Last night Tom's daughter, Sue, came out of her room to see her dad and said, "I got another one of those instant messages. It says, 'tomorrow you had better not show up at school or else'.
Working Moms vs. Stay-at-Home Moms, Lets Stop Debating Each Other and Debate the System Instead!
I could nearly fund my children's future education if I received money every time I've heard a woman say, "I wish I could afford to stay at home full time." Sometimes you can recognize a few working women making this statement to avoid judgment from the stay-at-home parenting world (and they shouldn't feel this way).
How to Help Your Child be Successful in Kindergarten
Your child's first year of school should be a fun and excitingtime. Children who are comfortable with and prepared for this first school experience are more likely to have rewarding and productive years, and therefore associate positive feelings with education.
Teaching Problem Solving Skills to Children with ADHD
Even though the "Stop and Think" movement in ADHD treatment has lost some momentum lately, the basic strategies and techniques are still worth teaching your children. My favorite version of the technique it the "Five Step Problem Solving Strategy," and it goes something like this.
Effects of Jealousy on Childs Personality
Dear friends here we will charge up our mind with the information of jealousy, Meaning of jealousy, causes of jealousy & effects of jealousy on personality.Meaning- Jealousy is an form of emotional stress.
Paediatric Osteopathy
All babies cry, but if yours cries a lot, isn't sleeping or is just plain irritable, many parents have found that a paediatric osteopath can help, particularly if the birth was difficult.By gently touching a baby, an osteopath can use manipulation to ease the tension and help improve the way baby's body functions.
Are You Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child?
Although many parents are concerned with our children's intelligence quotient (IQ), research shows that a child's emotional quotient (EQ) is just as important for that child's personal success. So what is Emotional Intelligence? Emotional quotient is your child's ability to feel, while intelligence quotient is your child's ability to think.
Boundaries - Why Theyre Needed
Imagine a child who lacks ownership of his own life, has noself-control, and lacks respect for others. If these were the qualities ofyour son, how would you feel for his future wives? Yes, wives is plural, this is one major reason we need to set boundariesfor our children their future.
Saving Money on Preschool: Readiness Skills Needed for Kindergarten
As a mom of 4 who's youngest child is about to start Kindergarten this Fall, I'd like to share with you some things I've learned about Preschool over the last ten years, along with a list of readiness skills every child can be learning at home - whether attending Preschool or not.Preschools, especially those taught in a church environment, are a wonderful resource that help prepare children for regular school.
|