Three Parenting Tips That Will Help Your Children Flourish

Family CounselingMay 30, 2019

Children are far more impressionable than you’d ever believe, and the smallest nuances during their upbringing can have huge effects on their lives down the road. As a parent, it should be your utmost concern to help your children be positive individuals and members of society, and there are plenty of ways in which you can make that happen. It’s not easy being a parent, and supporting children is a lot of work. However, you don’t really have to do too much to have small effects on their personality which you’ll come to appreciate immediately, which says nothing for how good you’ll feel when they’re adults.

Don’t compare your children to others

You might think that you’re motivating your kids to become better, ambitious and well behaved when you compare their performance with another child. However, that generally has the complete opposite effect to the one that you’re looking for, and can demotivate your child and ruin their self esteem. Even comparing two of your children with each other won’t do your children any good. The best thing you can do is point out the flaws that your child has, but not directly. For example, if your child is being laziness, let them know that laziness is going to harm them in the long term. Do not call them lazy, as they’ll begin to believe that there’s something wrong with them.

Make sure you acknowledge when your child does a good action

Did your child help out a neighbor with their gardening? Reward them. Did you see your child assisting a sibling with their homework? Let them know how proud of them you are, and reinforce such behavior in them by rewarding them and congratulating them so that they’re more likely to exhibit their energy in tasks which have a positive effect on those around them. This won’t only encourage your child to do good to others and themselves, but will also let them know that their parents see them in a positive light and are proud of them, which will do wonders for their self esteem. This will help them attain leadership skills in the future and help them be more confident in their abilities and personality.

Spend some time with your kids

Of course, you don’t have too much time to spend with your children everyday. It’s tough enough earning a living to keep a roof over the family’s head, and the only thing that you’d want at the end of the day is to simply relax. However, you’re not required to spend hours on end with your child. Even a few minutes a day will have positive effects. The easiest way to make sure that this happens is to have dinner with your child. It gives you the chance to be a role model for your child and to look at life through their lenses.