Being a parent is a wonderful and singular experience for anyone who has the luck of seeing their family grow from the fruits of their love. And although it is common to hear that there’s no manual on the best way to educate our children, there are a series of advices in order to be good parents that can be applied, with positive results in many families.
The advices for good parenting are oriented towards adapting our character to our family reality, and to understand that we are dealing with children and that, above all things, we should be patient, comprehensive and full of love.
Beyond the intentions of being good parents, there are external circumstances, or the requirements of our daily lives, that force us to make mistakes that we are not aware of, like the ones presented next:
Self-control: when our children cry inconsolably or do any other behavior of that kind, we react by screaming and shouting at them to make them understand that their attitude is not the right one, without realizing that our attitude is even worse. As the adults of the family, we must be aware that we can’t demand calmness from their part, when we aren’t capable of acting calmly when facing such a normal situation.
Coherence: as parents, we are the example for our little ones, and it is normal that they want to imitate our behavior at all times. We frequently believe that they only pay attention to our way of walking, talking and dressing, but they also take notice of our values and the attitudes we display in different situations in life, therefore what we do can represent a pattern they will follow.
If we promise them gifts for the weekend, outings or simply doing an activity together and we never find some time to do it, we can’t demand them to take their own commitments seriously. In this case, we must be aware that we shouldn’t excite our children with false promises and instead, use that time to explain to them why it is not possible to please them at that moment.
Having authority: being permissive doesn’t mean we are good parents. A way to raise considerate children who are not bratty is by establishing limitations to their behavior, always explaining why it is not beneficial for them to behave in a certain way, and warning them that every action has a consequence.
Be loving: in parent-children relationships, love must always prevail. Hugs and pampering are a beautiful way of reinforcing trust and bonds with our little ones and making them feel that they are the most important thing for us and that they can always count on our support.
Avoid preferences: as parents of multiple children, we must understand that not all of them can be equal nor can we pretend so. Above all, we must understand the abilities of each one and help them improve, correcting the weakness but never making the mistake of comparing them.
The advice for good parenting is to include all in doing activities that all love to do and others that are a little harder to do, but both are part of the most wonderful task in the world, and one which will bring us a gratifying reward in the future, with children who have grown into good men and women.
ALFA