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- I have been grappling with childhood trauma throughout my life, which influences my parenting today.
- While I strive to practice gentle parenting with my toddler, managing her temper tantrums proves challenging.
- I find it difficult to regulate my emotions but am learning to be kinder to myself in the process.
One of my earliest memories involves sprinting towards the school bus. Even as a child, I recognized that school represented safety while home felt perilous. When things became unsettling at home again, I instinctively sought refuge in school.
As an adult and now a parent, I confront the lingering effects of my traumatic upbringing. It wasn’t until I began raising my own child that I fully grasped how deeply these experiences impacted me.
Upon welcoming my daughter into the world, one thing was abundantly clear: I wanted to break the cycle and create a nurturing environment for her—a place filled with joy and wonder.
However, reality struck when I realized that overcoming the shadows of my past would make gentle parenting quite challenging.
Navigating Emotional Regulation Together
Regulating emotions has always been a struggle for me. Growing up with a parent who lacked emotional awareness left me ill-equipped in this area. What many might interpret as being openly expressive is actually an inability on my part to manage or conceal what I’m feeling.
Add into this mix a spirited two-year-old!
I entered this phase determined to embrace gentle parenting and help navigate those intense feelings alongside her. In fact, I’ve even researched breathing techniques for toddlers—methods that have proven beneficial for me personally. Do these techniques work? Surprisingly so! Yet there are still moments when chaos reigns during full-blown tantrums where I lose control too.
This journey has taught me that despite starting off with noble intentions in gentle parenting, it’s all too easy to stumble along the way—making mistakes is part of it!
The Importance of Setting Boundaries
My childhood was characterized by instability; flexibility was essential for survival. Attachment felt risky because circumstances could shift unexpectedly at any moment. This led me down the path of people-pleasing behavior in hopes it might ease tensions at home.
I mistakenly believed that adopting flexibility within gentle parenting would serve us well until our pediatric nurse practitioner pointed out during one call regarding behavioral concerns: “You need firmer boundaries.”
This revelation prompted us to brainstorm boundaries I’d never considered implementing before for my daughter; once established after our conversation, we faced some initial resistance from her through heightened tantrums—but eventually she adapted as she realized those limits were non-negotiable!
I still struggle at times maintaining these boundaries but find comfort knowing they ultimately benefit both myself and her—even if she expresses frustration over them initially; she’ll learn how they contribute positively over time!
The Realities of Parenthood Are Challenging
Instead of striving toward perfection as a gentle parent—which can feel overwhelming—I focus on acknowledging where I’ve faltered along this journey instead! If necessary or warranted by circumstances surrounding us both—I apologize sincerely while expressing intentions toward improvement next time around! Sometimes taking breaks helps reset so I’m better equipped emotionally moving forward too!
Your toddler may not fully comprehend everything happening right now—but I’m hopeful these lessons will resonate more deeply once she’s older! Perhaps she’ll learn how important accountability is when navigating mistakes herself someday down road ahead together…
No matter what though—I’m embracing being new at this whole “parenting” thing wholeheartedly! Even without factoring childhood trauma into equation—it remains undeniably tough work requiring patience & understanding from ourselves first before extending same grace onto others involved here too…
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