The Australian Scholarships Group (ASG) has relaunched its pioneering parent resource website - www.kidslife.com.au - amid reports that new parents are confused by the array of information available from diverse sources.
Launched in 2000, with expert content from independent sources, KidsLife has helped 40,000 members who value the website as a trusted source of information. The site helps them craft effective parenting strategies that are practical and work for them rather than encouraging them to strive for "perfection". The KidsLife website now has a new fresh look and enhanced functionality to help give parents choices in all the moments of parenting.
"KidsLife's Editors recognise parents don't need instructions any more, but rather information that encourages them to explore their choices and practise what feels right and fits within their values and family's lifestyle," says ASG's Corporate Communications Manager, Ms Rosemary Watkins.
"It's not as simple as right or wrong when it comes to parenting," she says, "it's about engaging and informing parents so that they can create the best lives possible for their children - the one that fits for them and enables parents, children, and family units to grow and develop."
To help parents navigate their way through the information maze, ASG has prepared the following tips to help overwhelmed and confused parents get the information that supports their parenting choices, reduce the pressure for perfection, and develop their intuitive parenting skills.
The parenting experience
Parenting is one of life's universally shared experiences - everyone begins as a novice and learns along the way. Children don't arrive with handbooks or manuals.
Parenting preparation
While being a parent is one of the most important roles that you will undertake in life, it's the role for which you receive the least amount of training to prepare for it. Being confused and challenged at times is normal.
Be open to new information
You never know where a tip or approach can come from that will work for you. Be open to information, but don't feel pressured into implementing it.
Let go of perfect
Do the best that you can within your circumstances. Try to relax into the role and its responsibilities so that you can enjoy your child and the joys parenting offers. Parenting is an ongoing process with no gold stars or pink elephant stamps at various points along the way.
You are your child's first educator
Many people may believe they have the right advice to share with you because they too have experienced being a parent. What's worked for them isn't necessarily for you. As your child's first educator, you get to choose the parenting information that's of value to you and your child.
Trust your choices
There are no simple black and white ways to parent, so try to avoid getting overwhelmed. Do what intuitively feels right for you as a parent and what works for your child and family.
Dealing with unwanted advice
Acknowledge the provider of the information and the intention to be helpful or supportive and then deflect the advice given if that's appropriate. Keeping the conversation light makes this process easier - "that's interesting" or "I'll have to think about that some more" are often appropriate responses.
Forgive yourself any mistakes
The love and acceptance you provide to your child and your efforts to spend special time together will probably be remembered into the future far more than any mistakes you may make along the way. Parenting is an ongoing process and your skills will evolve.
Handling conflict with your partner
If you let go of the viewpoint that there is one right way to parent, you'll find disagreements with your partner easier to handle. That's not to say you won't experience differences, but you'll experience a greater degree of flexibility towards those differences and be able to talk them through rather than argue about them.
Share your feelings
Expressing your feelings and communicating with your partner in a relaxed manner will help develop your relationship and trust in each other's parenting skills. You'll also be providing a good example to your child for the future.
Experiment and assess what's working
You may gain many benefits from trialling different parenting approaches and then working out what's working for your situation. This way, you're giving each parenting approach a try so that each parent's viewpoint is respected and then you can talk through the benefits of one approach over another.
Explore KidsLife and Parent Briefings
Get parent information and resources without stress or pressure at www.kidslife.com.au.
KidsLife provides contemporary researched information, including expert perspectives, in bite-size chunks, so parents can access a broad range of parenting topics, and take what they need quickly and easily. KidsLife adds new relevant articles each month, ensuring the information is current and topical. An optional monthly enewsletter alerts subscribers to new information added to the website on a diverse range of themes.
Parent Briefings is a unique feature of KidsLife providing a 72-part series covering child development from birth to 18 years. Emailed progressively in line with the developmental age of the subscriber's children, Parent Briefings provides a quarterly PDF reference file for online viewing or printing.
Membership to KidsLife and the Parent Briefings feature is free. Subscribers can win prizes through KidsLife competitions, and incentives are available to subscribers during the next three months of the site's relaunch, although subscription to both the site and its enewsletter is optional.
ASG is Australia's leading friendly society specialising in education benefits. It has helped more than 350,000 member parents plan for the their children's education. KidsLife is a community initiative of ASG, a not-for-profit organisation committed to contributing to the development of children, parents, and teachers.
"KidsLife's Editors recognise parents don't need instructions any more, but rather information that encourages them to explore their choices and practise what feels right and fits within their values and family's lifestyle," says ASG's Corporate Communications Manager, Ms Rosemary Watkins.
"It's not as simple as right or wrong when it comes to parenting," she says, "it's about engaging and informing parents so that they can create the best lives possible for their children - the one that fits for them and enables parents, children, and family units to grow and develop."
To help parents navigate their way through the information maze, ASG has prepared the following tips to help overwhelmed and confused parents get the information that supports their parenting choices, reduce the pressure for perfection, and develop their intuitive parenting skills.
The parenting experience
Parenting is one of life's universally shared experiences - everyone begins as a novice and learns along the way. Children don't arrive with handbooks or manuals.
Parenting preparation
While being a parent is one of the most important roles that you will undertake in life, it's the role for which you receive the least amount of training to prepare for it. Being confused and challenged at times is normal.
Be open to new information
You never know where a tip or approach can come from that will work for you. Be open to information, but don't feel pressured into implementing it.
Let go of perfect
Do the best that you can within your circumstances. Try to relax into the role and its responsibilities so that you can enjoy your child and the joys parenting offers. Parenting is an ongoing process with no gold stars or pink elephant stamps at various points along the way.
You are your child's first educator
Many people may believe they have the right advice to share with you because they too have experienced being a parent. What's worked for them isn't necessarily for you. As your child's first educator, you get to choose the parenting information that's of value to you and your child.
Trust your choices
There are no simple black and white ways to parent, so try to avoid getting overwhelmed. Do what intuitively feels right for you as a parent and what works for your child and family.
Dealing with unwanted advice
Acknowledge the provider of the information and the intention to be helpful or supportive and then deflect the advice given if that's appropriate. Keeping the conversation light makes this process easier - "that's interesting" or "I'll have to think about that some more" are often appropriate responses.
Forgive yourself any mistakes
The love and acceptance you provide to your child and your efforts to spend special time together will probably be remembered into the future far more than any mistakes you may make along the way. Parenting is an ongoing process and your skills will evolve.
Handling conflict with your partner
If you let go of the viewpoint that there is one right way to parent, you'll find disagreements with your partner easier to handle. That's not to say you won't experience differences, but you'll experience a greater degree of flexibility towards those differences and be able to talk them through rather than argue about them.
Share your feelings
Expressing your feelings and communicating with your partner in a relaxed manner will help develop your relationship and trust in each other's parenting skills. You'll also be providing a good example to your child for the future.
Experiment and assess what's working
You may gain many benefits from trialling different parenting approaches and then working out what's working for your situation. This way, you're giving each parenting approach a try so that each parent's viewpoint is respected and then you can talk through the benefits of one approach over another.
Explore KidsLife and Parent Briefings
Get parent information and resources without stress or pressure at www.kidslife.com.au.
KidsLife provides contemporary researched information, including expert perspectives, in bite-size chunks, so parents can access a broad range of parenting topics, and take what they need quickly and easily. KidsLife adds new relevant articles each month, ensuring the information is current and topical. An optional monthly enewsletter alerts subscribers to new information added to the website on a diverse range of themes.
Parent Briefings is a unique feature of KidsLife providing a 72-part series covering child development from birth to 18 years. Emailed progressively in line with the developmental age of the subscriber's children, Parent Briefings provides a quarterly PDF reference file for online viewing or printing.
Membership to KidsLife and the Parent Briefings feature is free. Subscribers can win prizes through KidsLife competitions, and incentives are available to subscribers during the next three months of the site's relaunch, although subscription to both the site and its enewsletter is optional.
ASG is Australia's leading friendly society specialising in education benefits. It has helped more than 350,000 member parents plan for the their children's education. KidsLife is a community initiative of ASG, a not-for-profit organisation committed to contributing to the development of children, parents, and teachers.