START WITH THE END IN MIND

As a travelling parent, there have been many times where I have been plagued with worry and condemnation about moving our family around so much, because it isn’t that normal and there are so many strong voices that advocate the opposite life.

I’m seriously just out of the starting gate when it comes to parenting, but we have survived the first couple of years travelling back and forth and I thought I would share some of my notes and tips as a travelling Mom in the hope that they might be of some help to someone.

So my first tip is:

Start with the end in mind.

Let your values and the culture you want for your family shape your parenting. Not your schedule, peer pressure, lists on Pinterest or whoever the latest considered internet Alpha Mom is. Work out your values, write them down. Discuss them with your husband and make sure you agree on the direction you are taking your family. Share these with trusted people in your life so that you are accountable for where you are headed. From there, work out the practical expressions of those values.

Starting with the end in mind has helped me anchor the choices I make with my children whether it be in their routine, the way we discipline and especially in what compromises we will or will not make as we travel.

Having the man or the woman that we are raising in mind gives me hope in the challenging times, vision in the mundane and fulfilment during the seasons when you see the fruit of what you are trying to achieve. It also helps me navigate through the sea of words, advice and tips that often bombard us as new parents.

I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me.

Thanks for stopping by, K xx

This particular tip has been on my mind for a long time and this post was inspired by an article I wrote a couple of months ago for the Mom's the Word series in THIRTY ONE: magazine. You can read it here.

By the way, in case you missed part one of this series ‘The Travelling Parent’ you can read it here.

Photo credit: Timothy Cochrane