Monday Musings: Parenting Lessons I Have Learned from my Children

Fancy Jasper Inspirational Necklace from cksilver

Over the years, I have learned a lot of things about kids. We have been parents now for over 9 years, and foster parents for about 7 months, and we've learned a lot through the process.

Here are some of my favorite lessons:

Choose your battles wisely. Often there are battles that are not really worth fighting. Learn to figure out which ones are important and which ones you can let go. My daughter went to school last week with three pigtails sticking straight out from her head, two different colors of socks, and two left shoes.

Be consistent. Once you draw a line in the sand with your boundaries, stick to them to the very end. Your kids need to know what to expect from you, and shouldn't be confused about which rules you will enforce or how you will react in a given situation.

React calmly. When one of the kids does something that is against the rules, calmly learn more about the situation and matter-of-factly state the consequences. Don't allow anger to take over, but remain calm and be the bigger person as the parent.

What are your favorite lessons in parenting?