What is reflective practice?
Reflective practice is pretty much what it sounds like;it’s the practice of reflecting. It’s developing the habit of thinking about yourself,your child and your relationship while you are in the process of doing something else.
Reflective practice is a relatively new term so let me define it by saying,
reflective practice is the capacity to self-reflect,while involved in activity and interaction with a purpose for creative change. It means knowing what you are feeling,as well as what you are doing while you interact with your children.
This may sound easy but let me tell you it’s not. It’s a complex process where the parent learns to include many aspects of themselves (body,feelings and mind) in any given situation. It means doing this with consciousness so you can adjust our responses accordingly,making contextually appropriate changes wherever necessary. It’s about improving your family life in ways you never thought possible.
Reflective practice encourages you to consider why things happen the way they do. It helps you pause for a moment to include what part you might play in creating those situations. It’s about wondering,asking questions about the situation like do you react rather than respond to certain circumstances and how could you have handled it differently.
More than anything else reflective practice is about changing the habits that keep you and your children locked in a negative cycle going from one situation to the next,repeating the same old patterns over and over without understanding why.
Reflective practice teaches us to include more. More of what you may ask.
Well,more about the situation,more about yourself and more about your child. More information,once properly processed creates the possibility of better decision-making and more creative problem solving,not to mention clearer communication in both directions.
Reflective practice is about changing attitudes and perceptions.
As you become a reflective practitioner you will begin to focus more on relationship rather than your role in relation to the child. You will develop and expand your natural capacity to empathies and learn more about the psychological processes involved in your child’s healthy development.
With reflective practice you will also consider HOW are you while carrying out the daily activities of caring for your child as well as searching for the deeper purpose in these ordinary tasks. This makes reflective practice conducive to real change helping you make sense of every day events simply by including yourself and becoming more present in the moment.
This shift in focus from role to relationship takes place firstly with yourself and when you have gained some understanding of who you are as a parent (self-awareness) you will more clearly see how to become the best parent you can be.