Five Tips For Great Parenting

How can you be a great parent? The following are five ways to be a great parent:

1. Love your kids.

The first thing you have to do to be a great parent is love your children unconditionally. This means when your toddler dumps their juice on your computer and fries it you love them anyway, and when your teen backs your new car into the garage door, you love them anyway. Great parents let their children know how much they love them, and they never threaten to withdraw love, no matter what the circumstances.

2. Get to know your kids.

If you want to be a great parent you need to get to know your child. Learn their personality and what makes them who they are. Parenting is an individual task, what works for one child may not work for another, and the best way to figure it out is to know your children. Learn to interpret their moods, and get a feel for them in order to keep them happy, safe, and going in the right direction.

3. Pick an approach.

Great parents have a parenting approach that works for them and their child. There are tons of approaches to take, and some work better than others, but the important thing is to stick with it. You can't be the laid back anything goes parent one day, and the strict rule setter the next. It will leave your children feeling insecure, and not know what to expect.

4. Have boundaries.

Kids need rules and guidance. Setting boundaries tells your children you care enough to give them rules. Enforcing those rules shows your children you love them enough to do things you do not like in order to help them be better people. Boundaries are important, and great parents include their children in the setting of said boundaries.

5. Get involved.

Great parents do not take a hands off parenting approach, rather they get involved in every aspect of their child's life. Great parents know who their child's friends are. Great parents attend recitals, meets, games, etc. Great parents talk to their children after school. Great parents get on their children about grades and homework. Great parents do not let any aspect, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for them to slide.

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