Category Archives: Parenting

Do you think you are a good father? Fathers are important in the life of a child just like the mothers. But you might be aware of the differences between the fathers and mothers. Fathers might not always become the best friends of the kids.
But if you want to become a good friend of your kid then you can always try your best to achieve his trust. It is not very tough to become the best dad for your child. You just need to follow certain tips to make things perfect for your child.

First of all, the kids usually complain that dads do not have much time for them which might be true to some extent. Fathers tend to be very busy with their office work. There are kids who do not even meet their fathers during the weekdays. Even if you fail to provide enough time during the weekdays then make sure you take out time during the weekends. Try to play different kinds of games with him. You can also help him with his studies during the free time. Ask him about his experiences in school as well as outside. You can even share your childhood experiences with him.

Being a father, you must always trust your child and encourage him to do better in everything. If your child fails producing the result you expected do not start scolding him. Find out the reason for his failure and then start solving the problem. The best father would always make the child feel that it is not the end of everything. Life is quite long and there is enough time to achieve success. Make sure you do not blame the child for anything without proper investigation.

Try to have one of the meals of the day with your kids. This way you can spend time with him and teach him the table manners. Other than the meals, you can even stay with him during the bedtime. Why would mothers always tell stories? Fathers can also become storytellers for a day or two. If you do not have stories in mind then you can always read it from his favorite story books.

Fathers must also be careful about the kind of friends the kids have. Always make sure your child is in a safe company. Lay out simple rules for him so that he becomes a disciplined child.

The question which often haunts both new and experienced parents is whether there is a particular parenting style which is ideal for all children. Some also believe that if you are looking out for a successful style of parenting it cannot actually be one particular style rather it has to be a good combination of many different styles of parenting. If you form a broader outlook you will only be able to identify three broad styles of parenting brought about through traditions. You may refer to them as authoritarian, permissive and authoritative. Before you consider these styles you must consider the effect that they have on a child’s psychology and behaviour.

The first type, i.e. authoritarian parent is someone who will make a set of rules and regulations and will expect his/her children to follow it to the letter without any questions. This style allows no participation from the part of the child. This is not a very flexible style of parenting and might actually serve the opposite purpose, i.e. hindering a child’s growth. Such parents never even bother to give reasons and thus children are never aware of why were the rules imposed on them. The punishments for breaking rules are also very harsh here.

The second type, i.e. permissive parenting does not use any boundaries or knows any limits. This often results in the children’s going out of control. Parents subscribing to this way of parenting do not believe in many rules and regulations and allow children whatever freedom they want to enjoy. One can also put this situation as the absence of discipline or punishment. Without proper discipline and too much of freedom children tend to become bad at their ethics and behaviour. This ultimately leads into a huge ruckus at home.

The last style however is kind of democratic. In this form of parent expresses all his desires and expectations to their child while telling them of the rules and regulations. It takes time to make them understand it all but once properly explained children become aware of consequences of failing to meet up with their parent’s expectations. This is a two way communication rather than the one way communication in authoritarian parenting. Children here are given a sympathetic hearing whenever they want to express their feelings and emotions.

Effective parenting is usually a proper mix of all these three ways of parenting. Now the proportions of this mixture will depend on your child. All kids are different and you will have to judge what suits your child best.

All good skills and talents are considered “art”. Parenting is also considered to be an art. Without acquiring the right skills for parenting it can be difficult to handle your kids and help them grow up with the right kind of discipline and values. The first thing that you need to decide are the values that you want your child to have.

Their are parents who teach good things to their children but they do not follow those things themselves. You must always remember that parents need to set examples for their kids to follow. So try to be a good example yourself to bring up your kids in the manner you want.

Some parents have the habit of overdoing their parenting which is not a good at all. These parents tend to get themselves involved in almost every aspect of the life of their child. If the child is grown up and has the capability to understand then he won’t tolerate this involvement of the parents in each and every matter of their life. Additionally, there are parents who want to do everything for their kids – even if the kids are capable of doing the work themselves.

Instead of doing the things for your kids, it is always better to encourage them to do it themselves. You should always keep yourself available for their help but only if they fail to do something.

Protecting the kids is the duty and responsibility of every parent but that does not give you the permission to be over protective. Let your kids be themselves. Stop them only if you sense some danger. Until then let them move ahead in their own direction. Your kids will need to know how to protect themselves in danger. Unless you let them learn and make mistakes, they will never learn the lessons of life.

Parents are not meant to stay throughout the life of the kids. Therefore it is important to help the kids learn how to manage situations and protect themselves from danger without help.

Parenting is surely an art but it is one of the toughest arts around. There is no way you can think that you have become parents as you give birth to the kids. You become the best parents the day when you are successful in bringing up the kids well.

Society fosters the perception that being a parent comes naturally when the doctor hands them that ‘bundle of joy.’ Even if a parent wants help, there are few places to turn to unless the situation is a crisis. The stigma of asking for help is a strong deterrent for most parents. Parents are embarrassed to admit, “I’m at my wits end; I need help.”

Often families are having problems long before the situation reaches the crises point. Parents can be at risk for child abuse, or even in danger of losing a child to foster care, because of a dysfunction in the home before they are willing to ask for help. It isn’t until the child is severely abused or taken away from the family that we question, “Why aren’t there any classes for parenting? That is what is needed.”

One reason there aren’t more parenting classes is because parents don’t attend in sufficient numbers to warrant having them. They don’t attend because they have the misconception that it is admitting a failure to seek parenting help. What a travesty! Parents are set to fail before they are a parent, because parenting doesn’t come naturally and yet, parenting classes aren’t mandatory.

Everyone can improve their parenting skills. Parents do the best job they know how. Their own growing up experience was often less than ideal, and they may not have witnessed competent parenting, communication skills or appropriate interactions with children. Frequently parents have not learned what is child misbehavior or a developmental issue that the child will soon master.

Parents need to learn to see a child as a work in progress rather than incorrigible from the outset or short adults. And most of all parents need to accept that the child needs to learn through trial and error. Avoid taking it personally as your child being rebellious to your parental authority.

Parenting classes can help parents know that some things are appropriate at different stages and aren’t a series of challenges to their authority. A child who is disagreeable may not be naughty, they may not be ready to handle this responsibility, or their impulse control still needs work.

Parenting classes need to be taught by qualified spiritual and emotional health professionals. Because they are spiritual and emotional health professionals, they can often help parents with issues like low self-esteem that can be hindering their effectiveness. When parents feel empowered and grounded in their own spiritual and emotional empowerment, they are able to be a whole and healthy parent raising whole and healthy children.

One of the most important life skills that a parent must teach his or her child is resilience. It is extremely important that your child has the ability to bounce back from any situation, no matter how grave it is. So how would you define a resilient child? In simple terms, a resilient child is someone who is hopeful, optimistic and possesses a healthy degree of self worth. They are in other words, “bundles of sunshine�.

So what can you do, as a parent to make sure that your child is resilient and one of the strong ones? First off, be empathetic. As a parent it is extremely important that you show your child where your loyalties lie and appreciate their opinions and points of view. No, you don’t have to agree with everything they present to you, but do consider them at least. It is all about showing respect 9and feeling it too!).

Encourage your child in his or her endeavors. It is really important that you make your child feel as though they are appreciated. It is in fact, one of the best ways to ensure that they perform to the best of their ability. Make your child feel special in unique ways. Trust me, it will be well worth the trouble.

Another very important part of instilling the value of resilience in your child is communication. You need to learn how to communicate effectively with your little ones. Understand what they are trying to tell you, enforcing your opinions on them repeatedly will get you nowhere and more importantly, it will not teach them to think for themselves which is another very important life skill.

Help your child identify his or her weaknesses and strengths and keeping these in mind, set realistic goals. If your child does not set realistic goals, they are basically setting themselves up for disappointment, which is definitely not something that you want. It is important to provide your child with all the love and support they need in this matter because it will definitely help them perform better.

Lastly, help your child understand that failure is perfectly acceptable. It is only human to slip up once in a while. The important thing to keep in mind is to learn from their mistakes, not just dwell on their mistakes and make themselves miserable. Good luck with teaching your child to be a strong, resilient individual.