Passing it Down

Passing it Down
I have been noticing a rise in conscious parenting. A model of parenting that focuses on the parent being self aware, and modeling the desired behaviour to their children rather than just telling them how to act. This model requires the parent to know how to regulate their own emotions, do shadow work, utilize problem solving skills, and display their own personal growth. It both requires and teaches accountability. While this is not an easy path, it provides children with the skills and coping mechanisms to navigate and adapt to an ever changing world in a positive way.
Influencing the beliefs and behaviours of the next generation relies a lot on our own attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours. They see everything, and, like little myna birds, they emulate us. So, even if we don’t practice a particular religion, follow a strict spiritual path, or even talk about such things, our personal beliefs and conduct  has great influence. How we communicate, our vocabulary, our actions, how we present ourselves, and even our possessions and home décor provide subtle influences on our children. Same for our choices in music, reading material, and TV/movie/social media choices.
If you are a spiritual person and a parent, you may or may not choose to raise your children in a way that includes your spiritual beliefs. However, if you do, I feel that this model of parenting translates well to a witchy/spiritual path, and could be integrated into a spiritual parenting modality (parenting that focuses on nurturing/nourishing the soul/their character and fostering a relationship with the Divine – whatever that means to you). If you travel this path, you likely understand its duality. The importance of both light and shadow, and how either can be a catalyst for growth. The conscious parenting model is based in self awareness, which includes being aware of our own flaws and personal demons. How we perceive these aspects of self, if we face them, and whether or not we are willing to be open and honest about them can impact how our children do the same.  Both of these parenting modalities remove focus from behaviour management of the child.
I have talked in previous posts about the importance of positive talk in manifestation and spell work, as well as the impact of how we phrase things can have on our own minds and perspectives, but that energy is also passed to our children, both in the moment and  in the long term. Which means, that which we reject, talk negatively about, or dislike about other people and things can have an equally weighted impact on them. While we hope to foster the kind of relationships with our children that would allow them to feel comfortable telling us anything, they don’t always tell us everything. The older and more independent they get, the more they are influenced by sources other than us (social groups, media, etc..), and the less we may know about their personal thoughts and beliefs. As they grow, so too do their personalities, and  there may be parts of them they never show us. If we speak negatively or judge others for things we disagree with or don’t understand, we may be unknowingly passing that negativity or those judgements onto or over our own children.
I believe that both spiritual and conscious parenting (or a combination of both) are parenting models that foster accountability, compassion, acceptance, and understanding, among other good traits. While neither are new parenting techniques, I think we are seeing more parents using them, which says good things to me about the amount of healing and growth we are doing as a collective. While I don’t have a time machine to confirm this, I think (or would like to believe anyway) that it is more of a return to a much older approach to raising a new generation. I, for one, would like to see less of the “Do as I say, not as I do” approach that has been so prevalent in the past.
I would like to add here that, as a parent, I know it can be hard. We are only human, and we all make mistakes. We do our best with the information and skills that we have, and we hope for the best. We too were influenced by the generations before us. There is no judgement here. Just information, opinion, and (hopefully) inspiration.
If you have children, did you raise them as a conscious or spiritual parent? If you plan to be a parent in the future, would you? Do you feel you were raised this way, or would have liked to be? I would love to know.