A Fine Parent

A Life Skills Blog Exclusively For Parents

  • Academy (Masterclasses)
  • Free Training
  • Articles
  • More
    • About This Site
    • Parenting Book Recommendations
    • Gift Guides
    • Contact

About Katherine Kostiuk

Katherine Kostiuk is a freelance writer and mom to two young boys and a very energetic dog. She writes about a variety of subjects but has a particular passion for writing about education, parenting and intercultural exchange. She has a master's degree in international studies and has worked as a teacher and administrator of international exchange programs. Visit her website at http://katherinekostiuk.wordpress.com.

How to Be a Positive Parent When You’re Exhausted

by Katherine Kostiuk.
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

Exhausted Parents - MainWe don’t do anything well when we’re tired.

We don’t drive well, perform surgery well or screen airline baggage well when we’re tired.

And as millions of us know from experience, we don’t parent well either.

Science gives us some clues as to why. When we don’t get enough sleep, the frontal and parietal control regions of the brain don’t raise activation as well as normal, and there is reduced activation in the visual sensory cortex.

In plain language, our brains don’t work right. Studies have found that just one night without sleep causes impairment in tasks requiring flexible thinking, that people who are sleep deprived are more irritable (duh!) and that sleep deprivation makes it difficult to multitask.

So why do we expect ourselves to be good parents when we’re exhausted?

Maybe because being tired seems like the very definition of parenthood. Newborn babies wake frequently to eat, older babies and toddlers wake from teething pain and separation anxiety, older children wake when they have nightmares, and everyone sleeps poorly when they’re sick.

Luckily, most sleep disturbances are relatively short-lived, and research suggests that our brains go back to normal after getting some good sleep. But until we can get that sleep, how do we manage our children and maintain our commitment to positive parenting?

As the mother of two children who regularly wake me up in the middle of the night (often repeatedly!), I have a lot of experience parenting with minimal sleep. I’ve learned that although it’s hard to be the parent I want to be when I’m tired, it is possible if I keep a few simple things in mind.

Below are some of the tricks I’ve learned to be the best parent I can be when I’m tired.

[Read more…]

How to Raise Your Child to be Tolerant and Open-Minded

by Katherine Kostiuk.
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

open-minded_child_main_10683425.jpgAs someone who has studied and worked in several foreign countries, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to immerse yourself in another culture.

I will never forget the first evening I spent with my host family when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan. I didn’t know what to expect or how to act, and I couldn’t communicate more than my most basic needs in the local language.

My host family and I sat at the dinner table, making gestures and laughing awkwardly. It was terrifying and uncomfortable.

Fortunately, persevering through the challenges of intercultural exchange can bring enormous rewards. By the time I left Uzbekistan, my host family and I had become very close, I had learned a new language, and I had a whole new perspective on the world.

When my husband (who was also a Peace Corps Volunteer) and I had children, we made a commitment to expose our kids to intercultural experiences so they could learn to be more open-minded, compassionate, and empathetic.

We feel strongly that it’s important to teach our kids to respect other cultures and be comfortable with people different from themselves.

To be the positive parent you’ve always wanted to be, click here to get our FREE mini-course How to Be a Positive Parent.

Although we love to travel abroad, it’s not always possible. Job schedules, commitments to extended family members, and limited time and money can make it difficult or even impossible.

The good news is that you don’t need a lot of time or money – and you don’t need to travel or live abroad – in order to teach your kids to be more open-minded, accepting, and compassionate. Your family can experience the joys and lessons of intercultural exchange without leaving your hometown!

[Read more…]

Looking for Something Specific? Search Here…

Disclaimers and Such:
Fair Warning: While none of this is professional advice, it is powerful stuff and could potentially change your life!
This site contains affiliate links. Pictures are either Creative Commons licensed or through Fotolia.
Click here to read our terms of use and privacy policy.