Thank you for the financial and time commitment you are making to support your son/daughter realise their Football dream.
My experience is that you will never regret the sacrifice and that you will enjoy a priceless relationship with your son/daughter well into their adult years.
As parent you are a key member of your son’s/daughter’s football support team. Your role is to parent your son/daughter with purpose and patience to give them a sense of certainty and predictability in their lifeworld at and away from the football club. Knowing that their lifeworld is supportive and predictable will allow them to concentrate on achieving their goal in football.
Parenting your son/daughter in today’s complex fast changing world presents a parent with a tough challenge. My experience is that by being aware of and working on (over time) what I believe are the 7 Parenting Essentials will help you meet the challenge.
Parenting Essentials:
# 1. Be a parent not a pal. As a parent you are the leader of your family. Your role and responsibility is to ensure their wellbeing and safety and to lead and support your son/daughter on their journey through the teenage years to adulthood.
# 2. Have a parent wish. To maximise your parenting effectiveness you need to have a ‘Parent Wish’ to guide your thinking and action as you go about the day-to-day parenting of your son/daughter. Your ‘Parent Wish’ represents the inner most enduring wish you hold for your son/daughter in life. For example- To always seek the truth; To keep good health and maintain courage to face life’s challenges.
# 3. Maintain your personal wellbeing. To effectively parent your son/daughter you need to work at maintaining your personal wellbeing- your inner contentment and being at peace with the world. Having a feeling of wellbeing will give you strength, hope and energy to keep parenting, especially through the difficult sometimes seemingly hopeless times
# 4. Nurture the wellness of your Teenager. By having a positive attitude yourself and promoting a healthy lifestyle through providing healthy food and encouraging your son/daughter to get sufficient sleep will strengthen their self-esteem and overall wellbeing
# 5. Parent mindfully with purpose and patience. Parenting mindfully with purpose and patience is the key to effectively parenting your son/daughter. Mindful parenting is about paying attention to your thinking and staying focused on the present-the here and now.
# 6. Teach and consistently enforce family rules. You should not be afraid to set and enforce rules. Living without rules provokes uncertainty and anxiety in your son/daughter and makes it harder for them to learn how to achieve the balance between getting what they want and respecting the needs of others. Rules should be as few in number as possible and ‘bottom line’ to ensure the functioning of the family.
# 7. Keep open lines of communication. Keeping open lines of communication will help you stay connected to your son/daughter. Choose the right moment to communicate with your son/daughter remembering that it is best to resolve problems cooperatively with cool heads.
For support contact me via email wellness@goldcoastunited.com.au or on mobile 0438184994
Best wishes
Jeff
Dr .Jeff Kemp OAM
Board Director Gold Coast United FC
