Parenting With Patience

When your children start pushing your buttons, take a deep breath and try these simple tips

Simplifying the to-do list leaves plenty of open space for enjoying undivided time with family. Ground Picture/Shutterstock

Parenting calls on us to bring forth every talent, skill, and virtue we can muster. It shows us, often in technicolor, the many ways in which we fall short and the many aspects of ourselves we can improve.

Perhaps the most coveted of all parenting virtues is patience. Whether our children are in the newborn, toddler, little kid, or big kid stage, they require more patience and forbearance than most parents could have imagined before having children. What parent hasn’t struggled at one time or another to find the patience to do well what they know they should do in their role as parent?

Here are a few simple tips to increase the amount of patience you have available for your family.

Check Your Screen Time

Do you ever find yourself annoyed by someone in real life interrupting you while you mindlessly scroll Instagram or check your email? Yikes. If you’ve been finding your patience at home running thin, check the amount of time you’re spending on screens. The more fragmented your attention, the shorter you’ll tend to be with those vying for it.

Review Family Photos

Fundamentally, to become patient, one needs to foster compassion for others. When our children challenge our patience in some way, it’s actually selfishness that takes hold—a desire for comfort or ease, perhaps.

One simple way to engender more compassion for our children is to look back at family photos. Reminiscing through fond memories, seeing how much our children have already grown, and appreciating who they are as conveyed in those precious moments can help grow compassion for their hearts and increase the well of patience from which you can draw.

Slow Down

So often, the reason we lack patience is because we’re trying to multitask or simply have too much on our plate. Simplify the schedule, the to-do list, and the level of pressure allowed into every day. If we’re constantly overwhelmed, patience is hard to come by.

Audit your expectations for each day. If your task list is 10 items long, that’s probably unrealistic. Choose one or two must-do items and then leave open space for enjoying time with your family and offering them your undivided attention.

Pray for Your Family

As parents, the responsibility on our shoulders can feel immense. It isn’t something most parents take lightly.

Sometimes, our lack of patience has little to do with our family members and more to do with ourselves. We can easily feel like we’re falling short of our own expectations.

Seek higher wisdom when your confidence is waning. Ask for guidance in being the best mother or father (or spouse, for that matter) that you can be. Seek to understand who the true spirit of your loved ones is and give them just what they need.

Look in the Mirror

Another reason parents find their patience dwindling when interacting with their children is because their children are showing them characteristics they deem subpar in themselves. Our children are truly mirrors who can show us all of our many flaws. When confronted with these hard-to-handle truths, we may find our patience lacking.

Take a break when needed, and thank your children in your heart for providing you with such a fortunate opportunity to improve.

Parenting is a process of giving our all while refining our spirit. It’s miraculous, if you think about it. Almost as if it were designed to be so.