Tips to Help You be a Better Parent
Parenting is one of the hardest jobs you will ever have. When we have children, your life is no longer your own. You now have to think about this person that will be looking to you for the knowledge for them to be responsible adults. If you are a new parent, you now realize that being a parent is a lot of trial and error. Most of our intentions are good, but sometimes even with the best of intentions, we make some mistakes. There is some advice I think may help you in your job as a parent. Some of these things you may know already, but maybe you can use this as a reminder. Parenting will take much patience and lots of love.
Tip #1 - Communication
From an early age you should be trying to establish good communication between you and your child. When they are babies, you will always be talking to them, and seeing their little smiles when they look up at you. This is a time when you should be bonding with your baby. Talking to them, even when they are infants, it's very important for their growth. This is the beginning stages of the communication process you are building with your child. As they grow into being school age, your communication with your child is really critical. This is the time when they are beginning to socialize with other children, and you can begin to see their personality traits. Communicating with them at this time will be important because they will have a lot of questions for you. Try to sit down with your child before bed, and ask them about their day in school, how they get along with their teacher and friends. Try to find out if there is any underlying problems that your child may be having so you can address them right away. As a parent, you really have to listen to your child. They will express themselves to you as long as they believe you are listening, and you care about their feelings. As a teenager, they feel like they don't need you as much anymore. They are busy doing their own thing, but this is the time when communication is most important. It's the teenage years that they face so many issues in their lives. You would be wise to have more communication than ever at this stage, because if you don't, they will get their information from friends and social media, and that's not what you want them to do. As a parent always be approachable. Don't ever make your child feel like they can't tell you things because they feel you wouldn't understand or you may get angry with them about some things they will tell you. Make them feel comfortable with talking to you about anything and everything, even if they tell you things that are shocking, you have to listen. Show them that you understand, and are there for them no matter what they go through.
Tip #2 - Set Rules and Boundaries
Children need to know that you have certain rules in your house, and you expect them to follow them. They also need to know that there will be consequences when they break those rules. Children need to learn at an early age that they have to make good decisions in their life, because every bad decision they make will definitely have consequences. If you do decide to discipline your child for breaking the rules, make sure the punishment fits the crime. Explain to your child what they did wrong, and why you decided the punishment. Once you punish them, do your best to stick to what ever the punishment is, because if you don't follow through, you are sending the message that they can break the rules and you probably won't follow through, so they may decide to repeat that behavior. Some sort of discipline is necessary for children because it teaches them that in life, there are rules, and they have to abide by them.
Tip #3 - Respect for Authority
This is especially important to teach your child. You should be teaching your child that when they are in school, they must respect their teachers and administrators. You should explain to them that every time they leave the house, they are a reflection of their parents. They also need to have respect for authority in the event they have an interaction with law enforcement. Your child should understand that even if they don't agree with how a teacher spoke to them, or a police officer stopped them for a reason they don't agree with, they should talk to you about it. You should explain to them that there are other ways to resolve disagreements with authority besides being disrespectful. In these times, being respectful to authority could very well save their life.
Tip #4 - Teach Them About Money
Children need to be taught about money and finances. It doesn't matter how young they are. You can begin to teach them about saving. For very young children, you can buy them a piggy bank, and every time you have extra change, give it to them and let them put it in their piggy bank. This starts the learning process about saving money. As they get a little older, open a savings account for them so they can watch their money grow. I remember when I was younger, and my mom opened a savings account for me. Back then the bank gave you little books that would show every transaction. I loved going to the bank and seeing my balance rise in that little book. I guess I'm dating myself, but whatever form of saving you decide for your child is great, as long as you do it. For the older child, start teaching them how to balance a checkbook. When my son got his first job, and received his first paycheck, I taught him about the taxes that were deducted from his check. I also taught him that every time you get paid, a portion of that needs to go into your savings account. Some of my son's friends had parents that bought them their first car. My husband and I made our children work and save for their first car. They also had to have a job to pay for their portion of the car insurance. We could have paid for the car and insurance, but we felt that maybe if they had to work hard to save for the car, they would be more inclined to take better care of it than if we just bought it for them. I guess that's a personal choice for parents, but it is something to consider. Good money management is essential to teach your child so they can make better decisions when they become adults.
Tip #5 - Organization
Teaching your child the benefit of organization is huge for them. You can start by making them keep their rooms organized. Keeping their homework and bookbags organized. As they get older, get them a small file cabinet so they can keep important documents, such as birth certificates, passports, etc. Start teaching them that you must be organized so you can locate things when you need them. When you are not organized it can be very stressful, and sometimes be costly when you have to replace documents because you can't find them. Being organized is a good thing to learn from an early age, and your child will thank you later in life.
Being a good parent is very hard, but there are things you can do to try to be a better parent. Children need to feel that you love and care about them. They need to know that they can trust you, and that whatever life throws at them, you are the first person they will turn to, without judgment. Children are going to make mistakes, but a good parent takes the time to listen to their children, and help them make the right decisions in their life. The greatest feeling in the world is seeing your child grow into a responsible and respectable adult. Parenting starts at birth, and it doesn't end when they leave home. You will be a parent for the rest of your life.
Tip #1 - Communication
From an early age you should be trying to establish good communication between you and your child. When they are babies, you will always be talking to them, and seeing their little smiles when they look up at you. This is a time when you should be bonding with your baby. Talking to them, even when they are infants, it's very important for their growth. This is the beginning stages of the communication process you are building with your child. As they grow into being school age, your communication with your child is really critical. This is the time when they are beginning to socialize with other children, and you can begin to see their personality traits. Communicating with them at this time will be important because they will have a lot of questions for you. Try to sit down with your child before bed, and ask them about their day in school, how they get along with their teacher and friends. Try to find out if there is any underlying problems that your child may be having so you can address them right away. As a parent, you really have to listen to your child. They will express themselves to you as long as they believe you are listening, and you care about their feelings. As a teenager, they feel like they don't need you as much anymore. They are busy doing their own thing, but this is the time when communication is most important. It's the teenage years that they face so many issues in their lives. You would be wise to have more communication than ever at this stage, because if you don't, they will get their information from friends and social media, and that's not what you want them to do. As a parent always be approachable. Don't ever make your child feel like they can't tell you things because they feel you wouldn't understand or you may get angry with them about some things they will tell you. Make them feel comfortable with talking to you about anything and everything, even if they tell you things that are shocking, you have to listen. Show them that you understand, and are there for them no matter what they go through.
Tip #2 - Set Rules and Boundaries
Children need to know that you have certain rules in your house, and you expect them to follow them. They also need to know that there will be consequences when they break those rules. Children need to learn at an early age that they have to make good decisions in their life, because every bad decision they make will definitely have consequences. If you do decide to discipline your child for breaking the rules, make sure the punishment fits the crime. Explain to your child what they did wrong, and why you decided the punishment. Once you punish them, do your best to stick to what ever the punishment is, because if you don't follow through, you are sending the message that they can break the rules and you probably won't follow through, so they may decide to repeat that behavior. Some sort of discipline is necessary for children because it teaches them that in life, there are rules, and they have to abide by them.
Tip #3 - Respect for Authority
This is especially important to teach your child. You should be teaching your child that when they are in school, they must respect their teachers and administrators. You should explain to them that every time they leave the house, they are a reflection of their parents. They also need to have respect for authority in the event they have an interaction with law enforcement. Your child should understand that even if they don't agree with how a teacher spoke to them, or a police officer stopped them for a reason they don't agree with, they should talk to you about it. You should explain to them that there are other ways to resolve disagreements with authority besides being disrespectful. In these times, being respectful to authority could very well save their life.
Tip #4 - Teach Them About Money
Children need to be taught about money and finances. It doesn't matter how young they are. You can begin to teach them about saving. For very young children, you can buy them a piggy bank, and every time you have extra change, give it to them and let them put it in their piggy bank. This starts the learning process about saving money. As they get a little older, open a savings account for them so they can watch their money grow. I remember when I was younger, and my mom opened a savings account for me. Back then the bank gave you little books that would show every transaction. I loved going to the bank and seeing my balance rise in that little book. I guess I'm dating myself, but whatever form of saving you decide for your child is great, as long as you do it. For the older child, start teaching them how to balance a checkbook. When my son got his first job, and received his first paycheck, I taught him about the taxes that were deducted from his check. I also taught him that every time you get paid, a portion of that needs to go into your savings account. Some of my son's friends had parents that bought them their first car. My husband and I made our children work and save for their first car. They also had to have a job to pay for their portion of the car insurance. We could have paid for the car and insurance, but we felt that maybe if they had to work hard to save for the car, they would be more inclined to take better care of it than if we just bought it for them. I guess that's a personal choice for parents, but it is something to consider. Good money management is essential to teach your child so they can make better decisions when they become adults.
Tip #5 - Organization
Teaching your child the benefit of organization is huge for them. You can start by making them keep their rooms organized. Keeping their homework and bookbags organized. As they get older, get them a small file cabinet so they can keep important documents, such as birth certificates, passports, etc. Start teaching them that you must be organized so you can locate things when you need them. When you are not organized it can be very stressful, and sometimes be costly when you have to replace documents because you can't find them. Being organized is a good thing to learn from an early age, and your child will thank you later in life.
Being a good parent is very hard, but there are things you can do to try to be a better parent. Children need to feel that you love and care about them. They need to know that they can trust you, and that whatever life throws at them, you are the first person they will turn to, without judgment. Children are going to make mistakes, but a good parent takes the time to listen to their children, and help them make the right decisions in their life. The greatest feeling in the world is seeing your child grow into a responsible and respectable adult. Parenting starts at birth, and it doesn't end when they leave home. You will be a parent for the rest of your life.
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