Who Should You Really Be Taking Parenting Tips From?

We’ve all heard of the phrase “mom guilt,” but the phenomenon is not just affecting women. Parent guilt is running rampant in this information age because now, more than ever before in human history we can see how other people are raising their families. Social media has the power to connect us with people all over the world, and unfortunately, we tend to use it as a tool for comparison.
With all of that access to other people’s opinions, paired with virtually unfettered access to all of the information on the internet parents are drowning in choices. In the vast sea of choices around us, how do we decide the best way to raise our children? Who do we decide to take advice from? While we can’t answer that question for you directly, there are a few guidelines you can use to determine which sources you want to believe when it comes to parenting advice.

Ask A Professional
A good example of trusted sources for parental advice is your team of preferred medical professionals. If your pediatrician has advice about your child’s nutrition or your family therapist has feedback on her socialization it’s worth listening to. In the same vein, if your child’s teachers or guidance counselors have an opinion on their academic performance you can trust they have the experience and expertise to weigh in.

Whose Parenting Do You Admire?
Are their other parents in your community, or even in your family, who you admire? Maybe your sister has managed to raise a couple of really well-adjusted children and you’d like to emulate her style, by all means, listen to her parenting tips. However, you can go ahead and rule out the commentary of other parents or even well-meaning family members who don’t fit those criteria.

Listen To People Who Know You
Even the people you admire the most can’t give you practical parenting feedback unless they know you. You can read all the books you want, but unless someone knows your values, your personality as well as the personalities of your spouse and children, it’s difficult to tailor their advice to you.

There is so much information floating around in the world and at some point, you have to figure out how to filter through all of it to find the pieces that apply best to your life. There are no perfect parents and there is no perfect parenting style, so release yourself from the burden of trying to achieve perfection. If you’re looking for practical parenting tips, we hope you’ll continue to follow along with our blog. And, if you’re ready to join our school community, contact us today.

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