This article talks about Two Ways To Be a Happier Parent. It's a sociologists perspective on being a parent and dealing with the stressful times. According to her it comes down to two questions:
1. When are you happiest with your kids?
2. What part of the
normal day with your family routinely causes suffering?
She goes on to give a specific example she dealt with personally, and she explains how she changed their routine as a family to decrease the stress levels in their household.
I think parenting is one of the hardest things to do in life, so it is helpful to have any tips. While reading how the sociologist adjusted her family's mornings it seemed a little too military like. If it works than maybe that's all that matters. I just don't know if I liked her approach.
I think this article was a good way to look at how one is happing parenting their children. I do not have any but when I was reading this article, it brought back bits of my childhood. I can honestly say that my mom's worst part of the day was getting me and my sister to school on time, while trying to make it to work without being late. We always had to wait on my younger sister which made us all late most of the time.
In the article I did like the fact that Christine Carter, the sociologist had time with her children every night and they got to tell her the three best things that had happened in their day. That allows some bonding time between mother and daughters/sons. I did not like the fact that she had her children like they were on a strict army base, but if that's the only way, I guess one's got to do what they got to do. Children do need structure when growing up and having a set routine is a good thing for them.
In a way this article can relate to a mother's motivation for being an autonomy-supporting parent. According to Reeve on page 463, parents are able to motivate their children by providing a relationship that supports and affirms their child's capacity for self-determination and autonomous self-regulation (2009).
I do agree though that parenting is and will be the hardest job anyone will face in their life. Kids are a lot of work, but are full of enjoyment.