Misty Honnold: Overcoming the Challenges of Parenting in Public

Elevate Christian Network :: Inspirational Stories

Misty Honnold: The main thing I learned is I have to parent. I realized I could not stop parenting just because we were in a public setting, but the challenge was understanding what that looked like. After the shock of that tantrum of my third child, I learned to walk into public situations with my children prepared.

Now, over 20 years later and after multiple public episodes, I have learned that the behavior of my kids is actually not a reflection of my own worth. Over time, this realization freed me—and I truly needed that freedom—to parent in public when the children were not behaving properly.

Parenting in Public – Prepare Children Ahead of Time

My youngest son didn’t do well when there was a change of plan. Every night he would want to know what the next day’s agenda was. If something unexpected came up, a meltdown was sure to happen. I learned over time to prepare him for the possibility of change. I eventually became a single mother of four, so life was sure to throw a few curve balls, and I didn’t have the energy to navigate a meltdown.

n the case of my third child, I needed to find ways to alleviate his strong emotions when changes came. As we would go over the schedule, I would let him know that if anything new came up in the midst of the day (and I might give some examples), our plans might change. This seemingly small amount of extra information paid huge dividends and was all he needed to make it through an interruption in our agenda.

Read the full story…. crosswalk.com

 

Meet Misty Honnold – Founder and Director of Single MOM KC

Misty Honnold equips, trains and empowers women to discover the source of their strength in Christ. She publishes a weekly blog on the website The Single MOM KC as well as freelances for other publications. By building trusting relationships with single mothers, offering programs and activities, regional events, one-on-one mentoring,and inter-ministry networking, MOM helps single mothers find resources they need to advance in life.

• For more information, visit Misty Honnold online at: http://www.thesinglemomkc.org

 

See also: Christian News Updates and Christian Music & Bookstore at Elevate Christian Network

 

 

 

Across the web

• Habits f Highly Successful Women In Business [Infographic]
• UNICEF: Thousands Of Refugee Children Live ‘in limbo’
• The Joys and Challenges of Being a Parent With Autism
• Advocates seek repeal of ‘family cap’ on welfare benefits