Good Parenting

All of us want to have a nice and ideal home. Ofcourse, we cannot stop from coming but we can always avoid it or, at least, minimize it.
Being a parent is a gift from God, as well as an obligation. Being a parent is a pride to everyone of us, as well as a concern to tackle with everytime trouble looms. Not only do we have to worry about our family’s food, shelter, or clothing, but we also have to put in our minds the naughty kids, the bills, etc. etc.
But in a way, despite the hardship that is parenthood, we are still lucky to have a family around us. A happy family is what we all aspire and work for. In a way or two, we could always be great parents. A little prayer and a little patience are what we need, plus the five tips below that you should always remember.
1. Seek for good advice.
The very moment you get to hold you newly born child in your hand, I know you’ll feel mix emotions. You will feel overwhelming joy and excitement of having a child with you. But then, you’ll also have the sense of responsibility of rearing and taking care of the baby.
Most first-time parents worry about how they would they care of their child. A mom in Argentina even confessed her problem about how would she be able to a good mom to her growing daughter, how would she supplement the girl’s needs and how would she be able to train her to become a responsible adult.
Good advice from the elders, especially from your parents or grandparents, could be very helpful in your case. You may also treat these people as your model. Remember how your mom raised you up? Remember the advices your grandpa or grandma gave you? Learn from wise ways of how they mold you to become a nice person and in turn, follow it to mold your child into a better person, too.

2. Make a Home out of Love
All of us believe that love begins at home. But let’s try to think it the other way around. Wouldn’t it be nicer to make a home out of love? Just like a plant is to a water, children will wither if love is absent inside the home. M. F. A. Montagu, a famous anthropologist in the 1950’s noted that of all the things that a human being need in order to live, love is the most essential of them all. According to him, “the source of virtual health is in the experience of love.” Children up to six years old need love the most.
Thus, it is best that you should spend quality time together, especially with your children. But how would you do that if you are a busy parent? Planning is the key and sticking to it one step to attain this plan. For example, you may want to spend at least a hour with your child before he sleeps. Or you may spend the entire weekend enjoying each other’s company.
Couples, too, need quality time together. Do not allow technology – like television, cellphone, or the internet, to rob you from your loved ones. Make sure that affection is rekindled from time to time. Express how to love him or her by saying “I love you,” from time to time.

3. Establish Rules and Regulate Routines.
Rules and routines are essential in making love and harmony stay inside your house. Rules and routines are like the safety guard of your home. Set rules so your children will have a sense of discipline and would avoid behaving badly. You write it and put in place where they would see it, but what matters is, they understand the house rules. Also, let them know the consequences that they have to endure if these rules are broken.
The best example of a family routine is gathering the family during meal time. In this way, you could bond together. Routines also include having individual obligations inside the house. This will make the children more responsible, thus, preparing them to become mature and responsible persons.

4. Know Your Child’s Emotions and Feelings
It necessary for a parent to get to know what is happening to his child. What children,
especially the teens want most, is that their parents would know what they feel about something. Some parents might quarrel with their children because of misbehavior. But have you ever talked to your child why did he do such misbehavior? Having and maintaining communication with your child is necessary to assess his behavior. This could also lead to a closer bond between you and your child.

5. Teach By Example.
Action speaks louder that voice. Action teaches far better that telling a child to do this or that. A child will only be courteous in the way he acts if he sees his parents also acting courteously before other people. A child will not smoke or drink, unless he sees his parents smoke or drink, too. Our children is the mirror of ourselves, thus, it is best that we should show them the proper way of actions and deeds so they, too, would act properly and decently.

The Bible tells us to “bring up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Let us learn from this text from the Holy Scripture. Being a parent is not an easy task, but being a parent is the best vocation in the world. Setting examples and showing them how to grow up to become a better person is a hard thing, but it the best that we could do to see them succeed in the future.