How to Implement 7 Principles of Parenting Teamwork (1 of 7)

1. Purpose 2. Unity 3. Individuality 4. Curiosity 5. Care 6. Consistency 7. Authenticity. 

These ideas and principles connected to parenting teamwork feel more approachable when we consider ways to incorporate them into our lives rhythmically.

Teamwork is something that characterizes the way partners and families do life together.

Rhythms help us engage the things we value in life in ways that are steady, reliable, and consistent.

Rhythmic PURPOSE (1 of 7):  If our calendars don’t reflect our purpose, then we haven’t truly made it our purpose

As a parenting team, having a shared purpose that we have talked about and agreed on helps us stay aligned and focused on what’s important to us and our family. This really comes into play and becomes most practical when it comes to making decisions. Our shared purpose can be reflected by what does and doesn’t make it on to our family’s schedule.

Here are 4 questions to help critique and adjust calendar decisions in light of a shared purpose:

1. What things are our kids naturally gravitating toward that we want to nurture? eg. strengthening friendships they’ve made at school, leaning into new passions like a sport or an instrument, curiosity about the outdoors, etc.
2. Does it feel like our schedule is filling up automatically, or intentionally? Are we shaping our days and weeks or are they just ‘happening’ to us?
3. What is giving us (the parents) life and rest in this season? eg. restful Sundays at home as a family, exploring the world with travel and adventure, pouring into our kids by giving them opportunities to pursue passions, creating space for our own hobbies and interests? The balance of all these may change in different seasons of life!
4. What things have we committed to (they’re stuck) and what things are ‘penciled in’ (we can still change them)? eg. we may not be able to adjust work hours and responsibilities, but we typically have some control over how full or how open we schedule our evenings and weekends.

A shared purpose focuses decision making

When our oldest daughter began kindergarten and our family entered ‘the school years,’ we noticed a big jump in the number of decisions we had to make. There was a quick influx in birthday party invitations and opportunities to join sports teams and activities with friends – all good things! When the schedule has space for it all, we often say ‘yes’ and make it all happen. But it gets tricky when invitations and opportunities begin to overlap.

Having a shared family purpose can help us remove some of the emotion around a decision and help us make decisions informed by the priorities we’ve agreed on together. 

One way to nurture the shared purpose element of parenting teamwork is by regular check-ins with our partner. Because the reality is, the vision and priorities we have for our families will shift and change with the seasons. By setting aside time every so often to talk about what is important to us and our family – maybe every month, maybe every three – we can make sure we stay on the same page about what we want to prioritize when the time comes to make decisions.

Encouragement

We can rhythmically lean into parenting teamwork by taking a step towards aligning our calendars with our family’s shared purpose. This week, take a look at the calendar and decide on one thing to put on the calendar and one thing to take off of it in order to align it with your family’s shared purpose!

Much love from,

Brianna and Ben