Five Dos and Don'ts of Parenting You Could Be Overlooking
Updated: May 22, 2023
While some roles are a walk in the park, being a parent is not as easy as some would think. Some years past, you could have been the single guy or chick figuring out the right person to link up with. Today you have that special someone to make your days fulfilled and filled with joy. The next minute, they are now what you would term as your better half and on the dinner table planning for a wedding.
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Well, it so happens that life begins at the end of your comfort zone. It’s at this point that you realize that you’re going to be a mom or dad in days, weeks, or months to come. If it never occurred to you that you could have kids to show off, then you are mistaken.
Now, it’s at this point that it dawns on you whether you were prepared for the part or not. So, how do you ensure that your kids are not the yelling type at the next visitors' gathering? How do you make sure they grow up to become responsible and successful members of society?
Well, there’s never a one-style-fits-all when it comes to parenting, but there are some things you can do or not do to ensure their health and wellness as well as your kids’.
With this in mind, below are the Five dos and Don'ts of Parenting that you could perhaps be overlooking. Five Do’s Of Parenting
1. Provide Your Kids with A Hospitable Environment
Whether you are bringing up your newborn baby as a single mom or you are the biological or adoptive father of a newborn, then being able to welcome this new bundle of joy in glamor and style could mean a lot to them in years to come.
After welcoming a newborn kid into this world and letting them feel at home, there are a plethora of physical investments that could count toward ensuring that your home is hospitable enough for a newborn baby. For instance, having a pet around the home might help your child grow up feeling loved and cherished, not to mention the many other benefits these animal companions bring to our lives.
Below are some more tips to help provide a hospitable environment for your kids to grow in:
Prioritize Safety and Comfort: When designing a space for your child, safety is of utmost importance. You can start by baby-proofing the house, ensuring sharp objects are out of reach, and electric outlets are covered. Additionally, create a cozy atmosphere by providing soft blankets and cushions in their sleeping area.
Foster Creativity and Learning: A conducive environment should encourage curiosity and learning in your child. For example, provide educational toys, age-appropriate books, and art supplies to spark their creativity. Furthermore, designate a quiet area for reading or engaging in stimulating activities.
Encourage Socialization with Other Children: To foster healthy relationships with peers as they grow up, organize occasional playdates or enroll your child in classes or clubs where they can socialize with others their age. This helps them develop fundamental communication skills from an early stage.
Maintain Open Communication: Ensure your home is a safe space for open communication by encouraging discussions about feelings or concerns with family members without judgment – whether it's between you and your kids or involving siblings too.
Organizational Skills: As your children grow older, it's essential to teach them organizational skills to maintain that hospitable environment throughout their childhood years. Involving them in simple chores like cleaning up their room or putting away toys gives them a sense of responsibility and independence.
Encourage Outdoor Play: Outdoor play not only benefits physical development but also contributes to mental well-being. Create opportunities for your child to connect with nature by spending time together at parks, playgrounds or planning family hikes – anything that encourages exploration outdoors is valuable.
Offer Emotional Support: Lastly, always ensure that you're offering emotional support when needed by recognizing any signs of stress or anxiety in your child's behavior. Be prepared to listen empathetically and help guide them through difficult situations as they grow up.
2. Ensure Consistency in Discipline
As a parent, you need to set clear rules and follow up whenever there are issues of indiscipline around your home. Kids will always test your limits and it's for this reason that some level of strictness should be observed. Ensure to follow up with the agreed house rules to help control any particular behaviors that could be wearing you down as a parent.
3. Staying Healthy and Focused
As a parent, it's not only your duty to be the one providing shelter and clothes but ensuring that there are healthy meals on the table. In addition to this, it's of the utmost importance that you are staying healthy for your kids.
You’ll want your kids to emulate you as they grow up. This means letting them see you eating a healthy diet, being physically fit, and leading a stress-free lifestyle. Nothing stresses a child more than seeing their parents suffer a debilitating illness.
4. Become Interested in Your Child’s Life Events and Activities
While not so many parents realize this, a child’s milestones play a significant role in their lives. Kids need to be celebrated and if not, acknowledged for their achievements. As a parent, ensure to participate in some if not all of your kids’ activities.
Whether they are at the beach building a sand castle or playing in the house with their toys, ensure that you are there as not the criticizing parent but as the supportive one.
5. Call for Help
As a parent, there will be times when tempers could reach sky-high levels. It’s at this point that you want a time-out too cool off and get things in order. This might involve getting things out of your chest with a spouse, a family member, a close friend, or a work associate.
Being a parent can oftentimes feel overwhelming. Assistance from your trusted loved ones can help you navigate even the rtoughest of parenting hurdles. ,
Five Don’ts of Parenting
1. Being Too Strict
While discipline might help shape a child’s life, there comes a time in the life of a child when too much of anything becomes poisonous. The last thing you want is to have your kids retaliate with a feeling that you are either too overbearing, overcontrolling, or that you are a bossy parent.
2. Playing Favorites
If you have more than one kid in the house, then it’s only fair that you treat all your children equally. One thing to note is that your children have different personalities and attributes. This could be among the things which make each one of them unique.
3. Giving in To All Their Demands
As you might already be aware, kids like to be in control at times, especially when they start approaching teenagehood. To maintain a certain level of control over them, ensure that you are not so lenient to their demands or wishes. Teach your kids that they will not always have what they want when they want it.
4. Become Ignorant of Your Kid’s Needs
Taking the time to listen to your kids will help you know their wants, desires, and aspirations. If you are well within your means, then you could be in a capacity to support them in the best way you know how. This might be financially, morally, or physically.
5. Being Too Hard on Yourself
Being a parent is not as easy as it might sound. It’s a tough journey that’s not only stressful but heartbreaking in some instances. There’s no taking a break from your responsibilities but you can always take a vacation, visit your shrink, take an evening walk, or get back to a forgotten hobby. All these could help you get back on track to being the best parent you were always meant to be.
No matter how experienced you are, parenting is often a learn-as-you-go undertaking. Having these dos and don'ts of parenting will indeed make you better at the job, but one thing holds true. No one can boast of being the best parent or get blamed to be the worst in the job by their accomplishments or failures.!
Understandably, children are born differently, some with exceptional capabilities while some might have various developmental challenges from the word go. It’s essential to be an accommodating parent with a deeper understanding of your role and a higher understanding of your kid’s needs.
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