Do you know what makes a good parent? There is a diverse range of opinions on that matter. But the truth is simple: good parenting is a combo of skills and tips you should adhere to. Let's talk about them and highlight 5 of them that may come in handy for you in your strive to know how to be a good parent.
Types of Parenting: Which to Adhere To
Modern psychologists and sociologists have several concepts of classification for parenting styles. As usual, the simplest of them is the following:
- Traditional parenting is the scheme of the patriarchal family type that is distinguished by high levels of control and the priority of the value of adults over the child.
- The child-centric style is very popular today. It is based on establishing the warmest and the most emotional relationship with the child, putting his needs at the top of all family values. There are two options for this style of parenting. Authoritative, when parents establish moderate control and encourage independence, and liberal, in which control is minimal, but parents are open to communication.
- Indifferent parenting style is hardly among the best parenting styles. This is the other extreme of traditional parenting. Usually, parents of this type do not pay attention to their children, but they also do not want to control them.
As you can see, when choosing which style of parenting is best, it is worth sticking to the rule of the golden mean. You can choose between authoritative and liberal parenting, as long as you stick to our next tips on how to be a good parent.
10 Tips for Your Successful Parentification
- Keep closer to your child. That means you should spend more time with your children staying with them physically and emotionally. You shouldn't play with a kid and think about your business at the same time. Children feel when parents are not engaged in the play.
- Set aside time for joint activities. If you're into crafting, get your kid involved in your hobby, do some DIY practice, or at least start a tradition of cooking dinner together on the weekends.
- Teach children to care. The ability to care for others is the most important value, and you should lead by example, talk about caring, and teach children how to show care and empathy.
- Don't judge your child. You love him unconditionally. This is one of the main features of emotional parenting, showing love and support in the most difficult situations. Even if inside you are boiling with rabies, do not forget to support the child. This is how you develop a strong and confident personality.
- Develop your children intellectually. Share knowledge about the world with them, if they have questions, do not push them away, and try to give them as much intellectual development as possible.
- Do not leave children without control but, at the same time, do not overdo it. There are lots of ways how to control kids, for example, special parental control apps. Some may use GPS watches to track a child's location, but it doesn't work tip-top always. Better combine trust and technologies to get results.
- Teach children empathy by example. You should emotionally feel the child, show sympathy when he feels bad, support and be interested in his well-being. Then he will grow up as a compassionate person.
- Expand your circle of care. The ability to care is important, we have already talked about this. Gradually expand your circle of care from your family to caring for others. It could be caring for a pet or caring for weaker people outside of your family circle. Just show that you can show care not only within the family.
- Tactile contact is one of the most important factors that determine education. Hug your children, but at the same time, ask if you can do it because the child needs to know that you can only touch him if he wants to.
- You are already a great parent! Don't beat yourself up if something goes wrong. We all make mistakes and there are no perfect parents. If you couldn't resist, if you made a mistake, give yourself a second chance.
Good parenting is not that hard if you really love your child. And each of us is already the best parent for our children.
