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10 universal parenting tips

By on July 2, 2018

1. Start from yourself as parent

Unhappy individuals make the worst parents. They look at life in a negative way and unconsciously confer the same onto their surroundings, which creates unpleasant vibes. Look inward and identify what makes you unhappy.  Discuss this with your partner and together, make an effort to work at timely solutions. Some people whine due to neglected issues which could result to more serious problems if left unsolved. Give more to yourself so you can spread love and good cheers to your family.

2. Teach kids accountability

Most mums and dads practically do everything for their kids. Experience tells us that children who are taught responsibility at a young age fare better at school. It is vital that children start learning how to cope with assignments whether at school or at home. Giving them a simple task like organizing their stuff, cleaning their room or helping out with the dishes can help kids learn how to be self-reliant. This is an important key to a child’s self-esteem. If your child is being looked after by nannies, it is important to draw a line between the nanny’s job and your kid’s.

3. Respect your child and reinforce the value of earning respect

If you notice that your kid is not behaving well with other children during playtime, do not embarrass him/her in front of his/her playmates. Instead, talk to your child in private and explain that his/her actions are not acceptable. Guide him/her how to play fair to earn respect and be liked by friends.   

4. Sincerity 

Most ill-behaved kids do not get invited to playgroups because they annoy or hurt other playmates. Some say sorry only to be allowed to play again but create a similar problem later.   If your kid happens to be in this situation, make him/her understand that saying sorry without meaning it will cause him to lose friends permanently. Teach your child the value of sincerity and how fun it would be to keep long-term friends to play with as opposed to insignificant fair-weather friends.

5. A family that plays together stays together

Children feel comfortable opening  up to parents who play, laugh and joke with them. Parents who give a regular dose of quality time to their children make the family closer and happier. Children in turn do not need to resort to attention grabbing tactics for play to happen.

6. Problem solving

Create rules at home and make everyone understand the role of each member of the family. When arguments happen at home where two people have opposite views, teach them how to focus on win-win solutions based on the rules instead of bickering about who is right or who is wrong. Children who learn this early in life will know how to survive difficult times.

7. Gestures of love

Children raised by parents who kiss, hug, give and share make them feel secured and capable of reciprocating.

8. Integrity

It is important that parents maintain a healthy attitude towards truthfulness and honesty. When a parent tries to reinforce discipline at home but  has a problem with his/her own, it puts the parent in a weak bargaining position with his/her children. More often than not, it  results in two extreme paths: 1) the child takes after the parents’ inconsistency or 2) the child harbors resentment for the erring parent.

9. Praise your children

Give constant praise to your child but check that it does not go to the head. Occasionally, motivate him/her with small tokens or rewards to boost confidence.

10. Teach kids to be independent

It takes a lot of courage, patience and good common sense to teach kids to be independent from an early age. At times, it involves seeing  your child fail in difficult situations but that‘s all part of the learning curve. No pain, no gain.

 

About Cathy Shepard

Shepard is a child behavior specialist and mom of 3.