Reflective Parenting: How Personal History and Cultural Stereotypes Shape Us

In This Episode:For all parents, our first lessons in parenting were those learned from our own parents, for better or worse (in most cases, some of both!). Beyond those early firsthand lessons, how we parent also is shaped by social forces and trends that may work for or against our children’s optimal development (consider, for example the recent trend of helicopter parenting or the old “do as I say, not as I do” axiom). Many parents also struggle to rise above cultural stereotypes, perhaps none more constraining than stereotypes of Black fathers. Andre Dukes, Vice President of Family & Community Impact at the Northside Achievement Zone in Minneapolis, has worked for 20 years supporting Black men to become the fathers they want to be and, more broadly, teaching reflective practices to professionals who work with children and families from all backgrounds. Don’t miss this heartfelt discussion as Andre joins Mom Enough co-hosts Marti & Erin Erickson to reflect on his own parenting journey, as well as what he has learned from the many parents he has served. WHAT STANDS OUT MOST AS YOU REFLECT ON YOUR PARENTING?What is your vision of the kind of mom or dad you want to be? How is that the same as or different from your parents – or the cultural stereotypes with which you grew up? Andre Dukes emphasizes that “little moments count.” Think about a recent day in your life and identify the little moments that you got right with your children. What other moments could you have seized if you had been more mindful of the power of little moments in your relationship with your children?