Dr. Robert A. Saul: Conscious Parenting | Raising Parents #10

Before your baby was born, you probably read plenty of parenting books, listened to thousands of stories from other parents, and maybe even planned with your partner what your children’s future would be. Conscious parenting teaches parents to understand that their expectations may not be the reality.

Meet Dr. Robert A. Saul

Robert A. Saul, MD, is a pediatrician and medical geneticist who has been guiding parents and their children’s physical, behavioral, and mental care for over 40 years. He is also a Professor of Pediatrics (Emeritus).

Additionally, Dr. Saul developed the Parental Awareness Threshold, a simple framework that guides parents and guardians to actively parent with self-awareness, empathy, and compassion. Parents who use this framework create a healthy environment where children learn to build safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and exhibit love and respect for others in their community.

About the episode

In this podcast episode, Dina Sargeant and Dr. Saul started the conversation by discussing what parenting means and what expectant parents need to be aware of during the transition to parenthood.

According to Dr. Saul, mindful parenting and conscious parenting are synonymous, and for him, parenting should be a conscious awareness of a parent’s interactions with their child and an understanding of the developmental stages of their child to maximize positive responses and minimize negative responses.

He added that being a conscious parent means not only being mindful of their children’s feelings but also of their own—that parent understands that there are times they’re going to cross the line or below the line, but what’s important is that a parent accepts that they are a life learner and is willing to alter things to achieve what is needed.

In conclusion

Nurturing your relationship with your child is crucial. A parent must be emotionally self-aware before being a parent. Also, being present with your children creates a safe, stable, and nurturing relationship since they know that their mother, father, or both are there, making them feel secure and safe.

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