Being a mother of two, Parenting has always been a challenge. Taking Parenting sessions and counselling parents had never made parenting easy for me. It needs a lot of time and effort. I must practice before I preach, so it’s a continues effort that I put in.
After all my kids are just kids. I expect them to be noisy, messy, scribble on walls, jump on beds, argue with me, not listen to me (not always), misbehave at times, and throw tantrums and whatnot.
If parenting for you is all about having children who would listen to you, be obedient and never talk back then you are not in need of children but what you need are puppets who would dance at your finger movements.
Every child needs to learn certain things, that are very crucial for them to live in this world when they grow up. Remember you can never take decisions on their behalf at their workplace when they grow up in their professional space or personal front. As a parent, the best you can do is help your child be independent and capable to face the world with a good smile.
Here are a few things that parents can help their child with:
- Let them make their own decisions: Even if you know it’s a wrong decision, let them take the call. Every wrong decision they make will help them understand things appropriately and will also learn, what needs to be considered before deciding.
- Help them Think: A child is usually curious about things around him/her. They will have so many questions on their mind, and parents are bombarded with the questions. Don’t attempt to answer all, (even if you know the answer) help your kids think and explore things by themselves.
- Resolve conflict: A child must maintain and form new relations with peers, it’s very important that they learn how to resolve conflicts. It all begins at home. Children learn from their parents. The way you resolve your conflicts with your spouse, neighbours etc. will have a huge impact on them.
- Managing Emotions: You shout when you are angry. Thereby teaching your kids, what to do when they are angry. You hit your child for annoying you, your kids now know what to do when someone annoys them. It’s important for parents to manage emotions and vent anger carefully and your kids will only follow your footsteps
Never forget as Parents what you see in your kids is just a “reflection” of yourself. This reflection will grow into its own image as time passes and it would be difficult to change once grownup.
