When you find the courage to let your kids see your humanity, you’ll see you’re not so different from one another. You find it easier to connect with people you know are authentic than people who project a caricature of themselves to the world. Your kids are no different. Imagine them voluntarily coming to you for your advice instead of you having to twist their arms to get just a few syllables out of them. When you allow yourself to be more open, your relationship with your kids will stop being strictly about roles and responsibilities. You’ll become two human beings loving and supporting each other. It starts with you.
Being vulnerable with your kids means letting them into your life. Sharing more of yourself with your kids makes it safe for them to share themselves with you. When you tell them what scares you, they’ll tell you what scares them. When they know you feel the same emotions they have they will come to you when times get tough. They’ll know you’ve been there and can relate without judgment. Your authenticity will become the basis for their trust.
Vulnerability helps us more easily receive feedback and see that we all have a role to play in making one another our best selves. Accountability means more than developing a framework of rules and consequences. It means living our responsibility to elevate each other as human beings. If they know they can call you out for not walking the walk, you’ll be able to do the same with them. Those moments are when real and relevant conversations will happen. We’re all accountable to one another.
Excerpted from “How To Be An Emotionally Vulnerable Parent (And Why It’s So Important)” in Medium online. Read the full article.
Source: mindbodygreen | How To Be An Emotionally Vulnerable Parent (And Why It’s So Important), https://medium.com/@LeMonkDeFunk/how-to-be-an-emotionally-vulnerable-parent-and-why-its-so-important-3142822ab643 | copyright mindbodygreen, LLC
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