Parenting is the most complex job people on earth face, with the least training and assistance to accomplish it.
Our Parenting Spiritually book, course, and resources set out both the framework and practicalities of parenting in the modern era.
Traditionally parenting is undertaken on an instructional model, that is, the parent tells the child what to do because the parent believes they know better. The spiritual component of parenting spiritually introduces the component of parenting through choice.
This is an entirely new approach to parenting which will allow the child to better achieve what it came to earth to do and to relieve the parent of a lot of the pressure of parenting.
“This parenting book has been an invaluable source of information to help me understand my child and the role I need to play so he can achieve what he’s meant to in his life. I’ve referred to it so many times over the years when I’ve been stuck or unsure how to handle such things as tantrums, bed-wetting, manipulation and more recently navigating teenage life. I am so grateful for this book and believe I have a strong, positive, and more loving relationship with my son because of it.” Lucinda Pyman
"The Parenting Spiritually book is fantastic! It’s my ‘go-to’ when I’m unsure what I’m doing or what’s best for my son. It’s given me confidence in my decision making and knowing we’re parenting in a way that best supports our son gives me such comfort and enjoyment! I knew I didn’t want to copy my parents. I just couldn’t find an alternative model that made sense until I read this book. I can’t recommend it highly enough for people wanting to become parents all the way through to parents of adult children." Olivia White
WHY PARENT SPIRITUALLY?
The paradox of parenting is that it is accepted how important it is, but so little attention is paid to it and so little is taught about it. Parenting is not understood.
To parent spiritually is opting to be in the life of a child to reinforce the child’s development, to help it deal with the grind of daily living, to act as an adjunct to its own powers, and to help steer it towards a journey of ‘higher purpose,’ without unnecessarily meddling in its affairs.
It is self-evident from this definition that parenting is much more than telling a child what to do based on what you were told to do. It is much more about developing the independence of the child to live their life with the guidance of the parent and taking into account that each child has a specific spiritual purpose for being on earth this time.
This means that each child has specific things they need to learn so as to meet their purpose for being here. Effective parenting quickens the development of the skills from which a child needs to learn. To fully grasp this, a parent needs to understand that the learning their child will need during their life will be different from that of the parent. In understanding this, a parent can liberate themselves from the notion that they need to have all of the answers for their child throughout the child’s life, and that these answers follow the model of the parent's parenting.
"As a mother of 7 children, I have celebrated the highs and struggled with the lows of parenting. I bore my 1st child at 19 and my 7th at 42. No other book or course gave me the reasoning, understanding and importance of the different phases of growth, the impact of spiritual values on a child’s life, and what practical actions can be taken in the grind of daily living to equip them to recognise their own power and reason for being here in this life journey." Trish Lehman
HOW PARENTING SPIRITUALLY CAN HELP YOUR CHILDREN
Consider the helpless infant, unable to fend for itself. A parent must attend to all of their needs in this early stage. Suddenly the parent lessens this behaviour and starts to tell the child what to do. When the child starts to do differently from what the parent told them to do, the parent overrides the child’s choice with an instruction.
At this stage the parent is saying to the child, no matter what you think you want to do, I know better, just do it my way. If you do I will reward you (including through the lack of admonition) and if you don’t, I will punish you (including through raised voice or exclusion).
This offers the child no choices. It is exacerbated when the parent tells the child they are ‘good’ because they have done what the parent wanted them to do.
The outcome of this style of parenting is that the child learns to be a good child by forgoing their own needs in order to please and satisfy their parents. Invariably, this spreads to other authority figures in their childhood such as relatives and teachers.
The child grows up without an independent voice for their own thoughts and a belief that somehow their own needs will be met throughout life just by pleasing and satisfying others. This plays out in adult relationships and unless the child changes in adulthood, will never result in a deep ongoing, and loving relationship.
“As a parent of 4 children the Parenting Spiritually model has been an amazingly, life-changing experience. If I was raised this way, I would be a completely different person today. The guidance from the parenting spiritually model has made every step more manageable and less overwhelming for myself and my 4 children and my partner and his 3 children.
I have learned so much more than I've written here but this is a book that I constantly come back to. There is no time for it to collect dust on the shelf as it is used regularly for parenting advice and knowledge for how to move forward.” Samantha Anne
THE PARENTING SPIRITUALLY COURSE
This Parenting Spiritually Course is a comprehensive approach to parenting that will help parents from pre-conception to well into their child’s adulthood. It is parenting children in a new way, not based upon the way you may have been parented, but based on what your child needs at different points in time.
Coaching parents using the parenting spiritually information can take place with individuals or groups at all stages of the parenting cycle. The purpose of coaching is to deal with specific issues parents are facing with their children.
Parenting spiritually coaches naturally fill the void of information and support available to pre-parents and parents at all stages of the parenting cycle, providing parents with an ongoing system of support and knowledge.
Day 1 What is parenting?
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Different models of parenting
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The concept of time in parenting
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Setting expectations for the child
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Parenting for the child, not the parent
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Gender issues in parenting
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The parenting cycle from preconception to 3 months of age
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Practical exercises
Day 2 Parenting from 3 months to pre-teenager
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Being a step-parent
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Loss of a parent through a marriage break up
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The price of non-independence
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The differing roles of the father and mother in this period
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Impact of spiritual values in this period
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Practical exercises
Day 3 Parenting from 13 - 21 years
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Influences on a child 13 - 21 years
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Impact of spiritual values during the period 12 - 21 years
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Practical exercises
Day 4 Parenting from 21 years onwards
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Two stages of further independence
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The effect of being 27 years
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Impact of spiritual values during the period of 27 years
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What it means to be a grandparent
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Seasonal effects on children
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Practical exercises