What Makes a Good Parent – Useful Pointers and Advice

by Inspiration4Living.com

There are more aspects to what makes a good parent. Be supportive of your children when they have homework to do; give them an environment that is conducive to study. If you can, be a volunteer at their school and support school functions – if they are in a play at school, make sure that you are there. Let them know you are interested in their education and that you applaud their efforts.

Read! As part of what makes a good parent, read to your kids and have them read to you. So much is learned through reading, especially if you begin to read to them when they are very young; they will hopefully develop the habit of picking up a book instead of turning to the latest video game or TV show. Reading to your child has been shown to reduce behavioral problems at school.

A good parent is consistent. Don’t ignore bad behavior one day and punish it the next! Children need rules to live by, just like the rest of us. Establish your “house rules” early in their development and point out unacceptable behavior to them.

My sons have the “three strikes and you’re out” rule – in their case, the children begin the day with a green card; bad behavior or breaking the rules earns a yellow card (which can be rescinded with an abject apology and a promise to never do it again!), but further bad behavior earns a red card, which means no play with friends for one week – a really cruel punishment in their house. To date, neither of the children has earned a red card, so the system seems to be working. In this regard, consistency is the key to what makes a good parent!

As part of what makes a good parent, protect your children by warning them of “stranger dangers”. A wonderful DVD to share with them is The Safe Side, which is recommended by John Walsh, whose son Adam was abducted and killed many years ago. This DVD tells children who their “safe side” people are, and who not to trust, even if they know them. It tells about some of the dangers inherent in our world today, and should be watched by parents and children together.

There’s another important aspect of what makes a good parent – a good parent feeds his or her children a healthy diet! Burgers and fries are okay once in a while, but don’t make it a regular habit to feed them junk food. With a little education, you can feed your children healthy and nutritious meals that will promote good health and instill good eating habits.

Try to always have dinner together as a family – this encourages interaction between parents and children and is much more fun that having the children dining alone.

Basically, the key to what makes a good parent is to love your children, give them tons of hugs (whether they need them or not), encourage them in their endeavors, feed them well, and be there for them when they need you.

Being a good parent certainly isn’t easy, but by learning about what makes a good parent, we can improve in the role and do the best we can for our children.

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