My friend Tricia recently took some parenting classes when she certified to become a foster parent.

“What did they teach you?” I asked.

She only had time to discuss a few of her many pearls of wisdom, but three of her tips have already made a huge difference in my mothering.

So now I’m sharing them with you.

(You can either listen to a four-minute podcast of our conversation or you can read the synopsis I typed up below.)

Click the play button below to listen:

[audio http://powerofmoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2013.6.17mini-2.mp3 ] 

Or right click here to download the podcast to your computer.

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Brief synopsis of the podcast:

(1) Children need a minimum of 8 touches during a day to feel connected to a parent. 

If they’re going through a particularly challenging time, it’s a minimum of 12 a day.  This doesn’t have to be a big deal–it could be the straightening of a collar, a pat on the shoulder, or a simple hug.

(2) Each day, children need one meaningful eye-to-eye conversation with a parent. 

It is especially important for babies to have that eye contact, but children of all ages need us to slow down and look them in the eyes.

(3) There are nine minutes during the day that can have the greatest impact on a child.

• the first three minutes–right after they wake up
• the three minutes after they come home from school, and
• the last three minutes of the day–before they go to bed.

We need to make those moments special and help our children feel loved.

These are simple, right?  Nothing really earth-shattering here.

But try it.  For a month.  And then I think you’ll see what I’m talking about.  I honestly didn’t realize how much I could improve in this area, and though I still have lots of room for improvement, I can see myself becoming a better mom.

QUESTION: Do you have any additional simple tips to share?

CHALLENGE: Choose just one of these ideas to put into action this week.  Then come back and tell us how it went!

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Podcast music from Creations by Michael R. Hicks.

The post Mini-Podcast: Three Unbelievably Simple Parenting Ideas (that Work!) appeared first on Support for Moms - Power of Moms.