When Parents Don't See Eye to Eye (with Melina Gac Levin)
Nov 14, 2023
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Melina Gac Levin, parenting educator and founder of Pueblo, discusses the challenges multicultural parents face. They explore topics such as cultural differences, working with families, and co-parenting with ex-partners. The importance of parents seeing eye to eye and working together is emphasized.
Recognize and honor each partner's unique culture and family history to find common ground in parenting.
Navigating multicultural families requires conscious awareness of how culture shapes parenting perspectives while considering child development principles.
Deep dives
Understanding and Navigating Differences in Parenting Styles
In this podcast episode, Melina Gack Levin joins the host to discuss how to effectively parent together when partners have different views on topics such as discipline, eating, and manners. Melina emphasizes the importance of recognizing and honoring each partner's unique culture and family history, which shape their parenting perspectives. She highlights the need for self-knowledge and reflection in order to empower parents to collaborate and find common ground in raising their children. Melina also provides insights on how cultural differences can influence parenting decisions and offers strategies for navigating disagreements. The podcast encourages open dialogue, compromise, and understanding to foster a collaborative parenting approach.
The Impact of Culture on Parenting Perspectives
Melina discusses how multicultural families face unique challenges due to the interaction of multiple cultures within the home. She stresses the importance of becoming conscious of how culture shapes our perspectives on child-rearing, including how we think about our children, ourselves, and our roles as parents. Melina highlights the influence of both individual cultures and the broader cultural context on parenting approaches. She encourages families to honor and integrate diverse cultural backgrounds while considering child development principles as a guide for raising children.
Collaborating on Parenting Approaches
Melina shares her personal experience and journey as a multicultural parent, highlighting the unexpected differences that can arise when raising children with a partner from a different cultural background. She emphasizes the value of open communication and dialogue, particularly when confronting decisions around topics like sleep and discipline. Melina discusses the importance of acknowledging shared values and seeking compromise to find parenting solutions that meet the needs of both partners. She also highlights the role of information and child development knowledge in helping parents make informed decisions and navigate tensions.
Supporting Children in Multicultural Families
Melina addresses a listener's question about co-parenting in a multicultural family with different discipline approaches and languages. She emphasizes the need to support the child's emotional well-being while maintaining a loving bond with both parents. Melina suggests providing explanations to children about the different perspectives and challenges each parent faces, without placing blame or invalidating the child's feelings. She underscores the importance of modeling empathy, understanding, and respectful communication for the child, while acknowledging that it can be difficult for parents to navigate differing approaches. Overall, the episode highlights the significance of creating an environment where children can grow to appreciate and understand different perspectives and develop resilience in their multicultural identity.
We all bring different perspectives to parenting that are borne of our upbringing, culture, or religion. Sometimes, we find these perspectives clash over basic parenting issues like sleep, healthy eating, crying, behavior, to name a few. Janet’s guest this week is Melina Gac Levin, a mother, parenting educator, and founder of Pueblo (parentpueblo.com), an educational and consulting organization that focuses on providing evidence-based advice for helping couples weave their various perspectives together. Through self-reflection, collaboration, and sometimes compromise, there's hope for all of us to find common ground.
Learn more about Janet's "No Bad Kids Master Course" at: NoBadKidsCourse.com.
