What does it take to be a great parent? Are there secrets to raising a child that your parents just never told you about? How do you know when you’re doing the right things? These are just some of the questions that fledgling parents ask. Parenting is a skill that requires time and experience. Although there are countless books on this, there is no magic formula that turns ordinary people into great parents. It depends on so many factors that only you and your child experience, sometimes together.
Changing Times Call for Changing Measures
Parenting is about figuring out how to raise an impressionable child into a responsible adult. From the moment of conception, you have already begun your life-long commitment to learn and apply the skills of parenthood.
Parenting involves adapting to the changing trends of the time, and learning from experience while being very observant are more beneficial than assuming that the method your own parents used would guarantee success.
Your style of parenting must also consider the environment your child experiences. The people he encounters regularly as a child will provide his first real test in social interaction. It is also important to look at his temperament, and determine when to be lenient or strict.
Other Tips for Effective Parenting
Parenting takes a while to get used to, but you will grow into the role. There is no clear-cut way of learning how to be a good parent, but there are some useful tips that can help you become one.
- Be a good example.
The easiest thing about being a parent is that kids learn fast. They see their parents as models for acceptable behavior, and will behave in similar fashion. As a parent, your actions and behaviors have a great influence on your children. Being cognizant of your own behavior, as well as explaining the difference between good behavior and bad, helps your child develop a sound moral structure.
- Teach them to be independent.
Kids will be dependent on their parents until a certain age, and is a continual process. Though it may seem uncomfortable or inconvenient, teach her how to do things on their own as early as she can tolerate these changes. It doesn’t have to be immediate, but treat it as an ongoing process. Start with potty training and teaching your child to feed herself.
- Do not force them.
Parents these days need to understand that the best way to raise a child is by not forcing them to do things that you want. It doesn’t make much sense to have your child take piano lessons if they’re not interested. Ask them first and see if it really makes them happy. You never know when your child might actually be more interested with guitars.
Your child’s growth and development occurs simultaneously as your own development as a parent. By remaining patient, observant, yet proactive and communicative, you will find just the right balance for effective parenting.