You, the parent, are the expert on your child. The only one.

Many of us, as parents, have not been afforded the respect that being the expert on our child should allow. We may not have degrees in education, child development, or be a doctor of something. We may be judged for our approach to parenting our child, or be accused of making excuses for our child, and that we only need to do what other experts tell us to do.

Certainly, there can be some really helpful advice available from professionals out there. Advice that we can ask for, maybe try, and then decide whether it works for our child. We inherently know who is on our child’s side, has our back, and is willing to allow us our thoughts and opinions on what they are telling us. As parents, we need coaches that also act like teammates.

There is no right or wrong about parenting – there is just working or not working. We are the only ones that truly know, after LOTS of parenting trial and error, what works for our kids. And honestly, it is usually way outside the typical parenting toolbox.

In talking to one of my parents after a recent TEAM meeting, I suggested that she would need to get comfortable with judgment, based on how she knows her child needs to be raised and educated, compared to what she is being told by the education system.

In all matters relating to the children who participate in my programs, I defer to parental expertise. On more than one occasion, I have asked parents to come to assist me when their child is having a difficult time here because am in no way the expert on that particular child, and when my professional tools and strategies are not working, I want that particular child’s expert to be available to them.

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Image credit: Expert by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free