Imperfect Parenting Archives

Imperfect Parenting

We’re learning how to create a resilient, emotionally healthy family culture. Here you’ll find honest parenting stories and ideas for developing emotional safety in your family. We’re letting go of perfect, we’re forgiving ourselves over and over and we’re growing together.

Glad you’re here!

I am not psychologist or therapist, I am a mom who has studied and implemented ideas I’ve found on family systems, emotional well-being and connection for the sake of my own family, and I am a parenting mentor who has worked with other families helping them create more connection and positive communication in their own families. The perspectives shared here on Bounce Back Parenting come from my own experiences and studies.

I do my best to share honestly about the unexpected challenges, fears frustrations we’ve faced in our family, and many readers share in the comments as well. Knowing you are not alone is validating and comforting.

A few of my influences in regards to parenting and family include:
(These are Amazon affiliate links).

Mindset by Carol Dweck Ph.D.
Mindsight by Dan Siegel M.D.
Connection Parenting by Pam Leo
Taking the War Out of Our Words by Sharon Strand Ellison

What does it mean to be a resilient family?
First, we may need to change perspective here. A resilient family isn’t a fixed state of being, something you either are or are not. Family resilience is something we can grow over time by cultivating family processes and capabilities that allow us to cope with difficulties, learn from challenges, and solve problems together.
“Resilience can be defined as the capacity to rebound from adversity strengthened and more resourceful.” “What distinguishes healthy families is not the absence of problems or suffering but rather their coping and problem solving abilities.”
~Froma Walsh
Some of the topics I talk about here on Bounce Back Parenting that helps you develop greater resilience in your family include:

Practicing Presence: Trying to find a bit more mindfulness and bit less judgement in ourselves so that we increase the ability to pause and respond rather than simply reacting.
Strengths-Based Perspective: Empowering our children and ourselves. Developing a growth mindset in our families.
Open Communication: Improving the clarity of our communication through better listening, and deepening our understanding of our own communication habits and needs.
Emotional Health: Learning more about healthy experience and expression of emotions in ourselves and others.
Flexible Routines – Simplifying daily routines of family life to increase your ability to bounce back when the inevitable disruptions occur.

Here are a few of readers favorite posts on these topics, and of course you can find more in my other categories on connecting with kids, dealing with anger, and taking care of yourself.

Mar 22

Helping Siblings Resolve Conflicts – Raising Friends for Life

An interview with Dr. Laura Markham Raising friends for life - isn't that what we hope for with siblings? But on days when each kid seems to have it out for the other, this feels like a distant possibility. Thankfully we have a new great resource for making this a reality.In Dr. Laura Markham's [...]Continue Reading

Mar 12

3 Steps for Parents to Handle Ongoing Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Uncertainty is stressful, and the Coronavirus/COVID-19 definitely has a lot of us uncertain and stressed. Maybe it shows up as the urge to keep updating your feed, endlessly scrolling. Or you might find yourself almost "nesting" if that's something you're familiar with from pregnancy - trying to [...]Continue Reading

Mar 11

3 Steps to Help Kids Handle Anxiety About Coronavirus

With the world in the grips of a novel Coronavirus pandemic it's a little hard to stay in a calm headspace, so I decided I wanted to take this chance to talk about how we can handle the stress that's bubbling up. First I'll go through how you can talk with kids about anxiety they may have, then in a [...]Continue Reading

Mar 5

Ironing Tasks Kids Can Do

Believe it or not, ironing with kids around can be productive and even entertaining if you color it up just right. Additionally, it teaches a useful life skill and allows kids to enjoy the responsibility of using a real 'grown up' tool. Young children love to help and contribute… and we spot a [...]Continue Reading

Feb 21

Black History Month resources to encourage enriching racial dialogue early

While it’s important to honor and recognize the contributions of Black Americans every chance we can, each February during Black History Month offers an opportunity to do this on an even larger scale, honoring figures of the past and present. Discussing Black History Month, or any time dedicated to [...]Continue Reading

Feb 12

We Can Foster Connection More Simply – Here’s How

It's easy to get caught up in all the things you "should" be doing to connect with the people you love. Your kids, your partner, your parents or friends - our relationships naturally are extremely important to us, and with our powerful desire to connect we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to [...]Continue Reading