What does it take to be a good parent?
What does it mean to be a good parent? We all want to be a good parent or at least we try or think we are one.
Being a good parent means something else for everyone. For some being a good parent is giving your children a good time, others a wholesome education and environment, while for others it means being there for your children. However, when we say we want to be a good parent we probably mean to say that we are hoping to parent well and bring up our children to be responsible, caring adults that will contribute to our community, environment, culture or nation.
Yes, that is when we look at the final result. Of course it takes a long time to get there however we got to start when they are young! It is a process and of course does not happen overnight, yet small steps become big accomplishments, and these small steps is what we initially see as parenting well.
What contributes to being a good parent?
- expressing love
- creating structure
- being a role model
- taking care of all physical and emotional needs
- providing for our children, such as an education and things they need ( that is in italics for a reason we are not looking to unnecessarily spoil them, something extra is nice when it is done occasionally not on a day to day basis..)
- give your children your full attention, be there for them
What can we do to be good parents?
- don’t feel guilty when you slip
- make easy resolutions- things you can keep
- enjoy motherhood
- take care of yourself as you are taking care of your kids
- check in often with your children and yourself
I know it sounds so simple, however it really isn’t! It is so much easier to yell at a child when we feel frustration and pain. However we must remember that yelling does not help us raise good children. It might be our first reaction to something a child did that we did not like and if we slipped, apologize and pick up the pieces and start again. Hopefully it will become a habit. Yelling does harm a child if it is not done often and the child feels the love and concern and knows that parent is there for them.
Children need to know that we love them even though they make mistakes and yet children need structure to know what is OK and what isn’t. It is a fine balance, a teeter totter you will have to trot, however the results are worth it all.
Remember- being a good parent is a lifetime of work, even when the children are grown, all living things need love to blossom! You can never say ” I love you too many times!”