Sue Atkins, a renowned parenting expert rightly said, ‘There is no such thing as a perfect parent. So just be a real parent.’
While there is no one thumb rule to raise your child, a few parenting tips can go a long way in ensuring that your kid receives the right upbringing. Different kids need different levels of attention. You need to understand what your child needs.
First and foremost thing is to build a relation with your kid and get involved in his/her life. And getting involved does not mean doing their homework or other tasks entirely by yourself. It means helping them to do it right; showing them different approaches in which a problem can be tackled; making them understand the essence of any given task and nudging them gently to come with solutions themselves. You need to get involved in their activities. Be with them emotionally, mentally and physically. It is a tough job but you have to change few of your priorities. As the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin goes, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.” This especially holds true for your kids, more so in their fast growing and learning years.
If you want your child to listen to you, don’t try to be their boss. Try to become a friend. Try to understand their perspective. They’ll have innumerable doubts and questions. Never snub them. Always patiently listen to what they have to say. Every day, they are learning something new. Don’t rush them in growing up. Let them take their sweet time to understand things.
A child is influenced by so many fascinating things around him. He will demand whatever he finds to be attractive. A child cannot think of consequences. So as a parent, you need to find a balance between caving to his demands and saying no when required. When you deny them something, reason with them as to why they shouldn’t have that thing. Don’t simply say, ‘I said no, so no,’ and leave it at that. It’ll only harbor resentment in their minds for you. Always remember that you are raising them to become smart adults who can think for themselves. You are responsible for building their foundation of morals and principles upon which they will independently act later in their lives. So always have an open dialogue with them.
Don’t try to mold them according to your understanding of life. Let them do whatever they want to.Use a friendly but firm style of communicating when they behave inappropriately. Use a soft tone of voice to redirect them when they are upset. Be a good listener. Try to form a mental picture of how the situation would look like from your kid’s view.
Kids are innocent and easily impressionable. Parenting has particularly become more challenging today because the exposure of the world to kids is massive. If not controlled and monitored by you, they might come under negative influences. Therefore keep an eye on their digital use. Make sure that they make only constructive use of the myriad number of gadgets that are available to them. Put only learning games on your smart-phones so that they also learn while getting entertained.
I’m a new parent and I’m learning the tricks of the trade along the way. If you are a parent yourself, tell me what does and what doesn’t work for you. Would to love to hear! Let’s try to be a real parent, shall we? 🙂
This article is written by Rashmi Deshmukh, marketing professional and co-founder of Regal Restaurant in Pune. She is a Mother to a year old brat!