Developing These Parenting Skills Will Make You A Better Parent

By Jhon Parker


Few people will try to make the claim that parenting isn't that complicated but, like everything else out there, you can cultivate certain skills that will help you become more effective at the task. When everything is going well that's when you can figure that you're making good parenting choices. If you run into hardship, though, it might be time to work on your parenting skills.

Unlike in earlier times, many parents today attempt to raise their kids alone. Single parenting for real is difficult enough but it is even worse when a two parent household allows each parent to behave as if they were a single parent in terms of raising kids. You should seek advice and help from anybody willing to offer it and this includes your friends, your siblings or even your own parents. Anyone who is a parent him or herself should have valuable feedback into parenting for you, especially if you need help with any specific part of it. Your older family members, while perhaps not up to date on every aspect of modern living, usually have all sorts of insight and wisdom both on parenting and on other issues too.

As their mother or father you are naturally the first role model your children will have and if you are a good one, you stand a better chance of your kids actually meeting your standards. Parents who simply tell their kids not to do something, like using profanity, but then are always doing that thing themselves will find that it is the actions and not the words that the kids heed.

As a parent you are going to naturally gravitate toward some parenting styles over others but that doesn't mean that your parenting style doesn't ever have to be modified--particularly if you operate in extremes. Parents, for example, who are rigid and authoritarian are typically reflecting the style in which they were brought up. In our current society, though, kids need to be raised to think independently and when you are too strict or authoritarian they do not develop this skill and either rebel at an early age or become far too docile and obedient for adult life. At the opposite end of the spectrum however there are problems too; kids who grow up in environments that are too permissive often lack boundaries and self discipline later on.

As challenging as you might find this, it is important to stay calm. Even if you do not feel calm, resist the urge to have an outburst or to yell at your kid. Acting in anger isn't effective and it doesn't send a good message to your children. Even when it is time to discipline your child carry out that discipline calmly, not in anger. It's natural to have emotions, but when you feel like you're losing control, take a few deep breaths and try to take a break from the situation. Most importantly, don't make decisions about what you're going to do until you've calmed down. You should discipline your kids based on rational things, not because of an emotional outburst you're having. Because you're the parent, you need to stay in control as much as you possibly can.

More importantly, don't let yourself make any decisions about your actions until you've calmed down. Discipline should be based on rationality not emotions. Because you're the parent, you need to stay in control as much as you possibly can. As a parent, there are many skills that can make your job easier and help the child learn important life lessons. You need to, obviously, find ways to apply these skills that fit in with the age and personalities of your children. You and your kids are only human and mistakes are going to be made but we all have the capacity to learn and use our mistakes to become better people.




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