Added: 09/06/2006 |
Parenting Skill Is LearnedParenting skill is not something we are born with. We can study up on the subject all we want, but once that baby is born, it's a crash course in what's really important. Effective parenting skills aren't always the ones you hear about, either. No one tells you that as important a parenting skill as discipline is, the ability to talk in funny voices is up there, too. Read more about learning parenting skill as you go along.
You can read as many books as you can find on the subject of parenting skill, but nothing will prepare you for the first time you see your newborn and hold him in your arms. You might think you know how to handle parenthood, but when they put that little bundle of life in your arms, you start second-guessing everything, down to if you are even holding him right.
The good news is that you don’t have to have all the parenting skill in the world during those first days; instinct plays a big part. Is your infant content? Is she eating? Pooping? Sleeping? If yes, then you have the effective parenting skills it takes to care for your newborn. While those early days are tiring and busy, with frequent feedings and changes, all the parenting skill you really need is attentiveness to your baby’s needs and a loving touch. Your instinct will carry you a long way.
One skill (or virtue, I guess) that transfers to being a parenting skill is patience. You’ll need this from the time your child is born to … uh, forever. When that baby is crying, you have to be patient and keep trying ways to soothe him. Believe me, this can really try your patience. But remember, practice makes perfect. Keep trying. And your kids will try your patience for the rest of your life, but you’ve got to use that parenting skill of exercising your patience.
One parenting skill that some people don’t learn until they are parents is multi-tasking. If you’re fortunate to have practiced this out in the working world, you’re a leg up. But for some, doing several things at once is a skill that needs developing. The need to multi-task is definitely there with one child, and I’m 100-percent certain it’s there when you have multiple kids. The ability to be able to make dinner for your family while entertaining your toddler, who is under your feet pulling on your legs, answer the phone, and remember to take the load of laundry out of the dryer is definitely a parenting skill.
A parenting skill I’m currently developing is how to talk in funny voices, especially while reading a book, and in general while entertaining your child. You laugh, but it can also come in handy to get your child’s attention after you’ve said “NO!” in your regular voice 10 times already. Funny voices, talking in a whisper; trust me, they work. That little head switches around as if to say, “Who the heck are you and where is my Mama?” Now that’s one parenting skill I bet you never thought you’d need and definitely got no instruction on how to hone in your books.
Another parenting skill they don’t tell you about in the books is having a thick skin. This helps you in a wide variety of situations; from avoiding embarrassment when your child says something he shouldn’t in public to having to do gross things such as scoop poop out of the bath water. Having a thick skin comes in very handy when you’re a parent, and the good news here is that the longer you have kids, the thicker it becomes. In the newborn days, you freak out over the slightest cough or scratch on your precious darling. Give it a year, and you know that they won’t break. Then you only call the doctor if there’s blood. Well, you live, you learn effective parenting skills.
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