Self-Efficacy In Parenting
I believe that the more empowered and confident you feel as a parent, the better able you are to become the parent you want to be. I also believe that feeling empowered and confident will lead you to greater success in managing parenting challenges. That is why my goal in any of the work I do with clients is to help them feel empowered, confident, and clear in their parenting. This is also why I chose the title of “Parenting Empowerment Partner” for my job description.
Here are 2 things I feel are important to clarify about the above statements:
Becoming the parent you want to be is a life-long process
Feeling confident and empowered is not equivalent to having all the answers
I think it’s really important to view parenting as a process. If we’re lucky we have a few moments in time where we are actually the parent we want to be - but then our kids change again and we’re whisked off to the next set of challenges and developments. This is a good thing- we want to develop with our kids and parent according to what they need when they need it. Our kids are dynamic people and our parenting should be dynamic too.
In a similar vein, I’m a big believer in building confidence and empowerment in your feelings of self-efficacy as a parent, which does not mean having all the answers and doing everything perfectly. Self-efficacy is a psychological concept originally proposed by Albert Bandura (incidentally an influential researcher in child behavior). It refers to a person’s belief that they are capable of meeting or reaching their goals (learn more here or here).
No one is capable of knowing everything about parenting, having all the answers about what to do, or doing everything perfectly. Therefore, what is important, is believing you are capable of finding the answers and resources you need and believing you are capable of becoming the parent you want to be.
In addition to helping you with whatever specific problem or goal that has led you to seek consultation, it is my priority to build your self-efficacy as a parent. To help you believe you are an awesome parent, who can manage the challenges that come your way whether by yourself or by accessing the appropriate resources as needed, and to help you achieve clarity in pursuing your vision of the parent you want to be.
