YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Use a schedule to attachment parent

    If you plan to use attachment parenting to raise your child, you are trying to instill empathy and emotional connections. That sounds really great and brings to mind small children helping others as they bounce through a flowery field with butterflies afloat. The reality is that if you don't prepare, the only butterflies you are going to know about are the ones that fill your stomach right before you get sick from stress. Attachment parenting doesn't mean that you never get angry or frustrated. The difference is that if you plan ahead, these moments can be handled in a loving way, regardless of how stressed you are.

    Have a variety of people available. You can't be there all the time for your child. But, you want to make sure he or she always knows love and affection. You think because you are a stay at home parent, you are going to be able to show him or her that love and affection every hour of the day and night. The thing that you forgot is that children will be children and have their own agenda. You need to have one or more people available for the times when you simply can't be. Even stay at home moms need a breather.

    Create a visitation schedule. You can't just foist our child off on someone more patient every time he or she upsets you. If you do need to step away, you want someone the child is used to spending time with. You need a break and they need to know they aren't being rejected. If you have a regular schedule for someone to visit your child, you can try and deal with the stress until then, or you can call the loved one and ask for them to casually stop by. Either way, your child is protected from any thought they might have about you not wanting them.

    Admit your own faults. Your child may do something that you respond to with anxiety. How you respond is your responsibility, no matter what they do. Instead of doing something you shouldn't, you can always admit your frustration, express your love and step away. When you calm down, you can explain that sometimes your own emotions are more than you can handle, just like their emotions are for them. After all, if you want to teach empathy, you are going to have to model it.

    More from this contributor…

    5 Signs Your Child is a Bully

    How Kids Translate What You Say

    Netflix for Parents

    Source: Personal Experience