Learn from your mistakes-Repentance

Parents are humans and humans make mistakes. We must recognize that in this life we are going to make mistakes, which enables us to learn and grow. As parents we are learning how to raise each child and learning to live for them. We will still have bad days every so often, but it's all in how we walk away from the situations. As parents we need to know that our children are always watching and we need them to know we are not perfect. We read the following in chapter 1 of "10 Basic Principles of Good Parenting" that, "When you understand why you made a mistake, you can figure out what went wrong and take steps to minimize the chances of it happening again, so that this sort of errant parenting doesn't become a regular part of your child's home environment (Steinberg, pg. 24)". He continues to say, "If you've made a mistake as a parent, there is no point in pretending that what you did was right. It's important for parents to admit their mistakes, to their spouse and to their child, as long as they do so in a way that the child can understand (Steinberg, pg. 26)". This is also a great example to the child of teaching how to apologize and receive their forgiveness. In the gospel we learn the principle of repentance. In Preach my Gospel on page 62 we learn what repentance is, "When we repent we are changing our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that are not in harmony with his will. Repentance includes forming a fresh view of God, ourselves, and the world". Just as a parent we need to have a fresh view of how we are going to handle the next situation we are faced with. When our children act up and we get mad when then need to recognize, admit, and change how we will respond the next time. Preach my Gospel continues with, "As we change, we recognize that we are children of God and that we need not continue making the same mistakes over and over. If we sincerely repent, we turn away from our sins and do them no more (PMG, pg 62)". Once again as we learn from our mistakes we desire to not repeat them again and again.