The Greatest Challenge in the World...
Good Parenting

There aren’t many challenges that are greater than that of being good parents.

But, the good news is...

There are few opportunities that provide greater joy.

If you are a first time parent, the anticipation of your baby’s arrival is one of the most exciting times you will ever have.

But for many, the reality and enormity of it all doesn’t really sink in until they get home with their bundle of joy and are now known as parents – with dirty diapers to change, sleepless nights, tummy aches, and so much more.

The bad news is…

Your good parenting skills are most likely limited at this moment.

Some first-time dads are even afraid they might break or drop their baby! (I have never heard of that happening...)

It is essential to obtain good parenting skills. These skills aren’t learned over night, by any means, and will require trial and error along the way, according to the needs of your child.

Barbara Bush, wife of President George Bush, said to the graduates of Wellesley College:

“But whatever the era, whatever the times, one thing will never change: Fathers and mothers, if you have children, they must come first. You must read to your children and you must hug your children and you must love your children. Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not on what happens in the White House but on what happens inside your house.” (Washington Post, 2 June 1990, p. 2.)

Raising a family provides a whole range of experiences and emotions – from a heart so full of love and joy you think it might burst – to sheer panic or even the pain of a heart so broken you wonder if you can bear it.

My response was, Oh – but the love you have for your child goes so much deeper than any frustration, disappointment, or sadness you might have to experience.

For me, the role of motherhood has been a very tender one, as it has instinctively caused some of my greatest joys and heartaches.

Being parents is a journey, for sure, of ups and downs.

And how you choose to learn and grow, developing good parenting skills during the journey, will have a profound effect on the end result.

Be anxiously engaged in developing your parenting skills.

It's Important To Teach Children While They Are Young

As you get older, you cannot learn or memorize or study like you could when you were young. (This is my life as I know it now…)

Consider this conversation between a doctor and a patient:

Doctor: “How can I help you? What seems to be your problem?”

Patient: “It is my memory, doctor. I read something, and I can’t remember it. I can’t remember why I came into a room. I can’t remember where I put things.”

Doctor: “Well, tell me, how long has this condition been bothering you?”

Patient: “How long has what condition been bothering me?”

(There's a reason we have our children sooner, rather than later...)

Childhood is the time for easy learning.

From the time they are born they should be hearing the words:

• Thank you

• You’re welcome

• I’m sorry

• Please

• May I

• Will you please

These are just very basic, respectful words. But they seem to be lacking in today's world.

Childhood is when you should be teaching your children life’s lessons, appropriate to their age, and those things you hold dear to your heart and want to pass onto them.

It’s when you as a parent are better able to mold them and guide them to become responsible, happy teenagers and successful adults because children have an amazing capacity to understand.

Our children today are growing up surrounded by voices tempting them to disregard what is right; to ignore the values and principles being taught in their homes. We must provide for them a solid foundation so that when temptations come, they will be able to walk way from them. And when they don't... hopefully maturity and life's lessons will bring them back to their roots.

Good Parenting Has Everything To Do With Your Heart!

We love our children before they are born, so we are already connected with our heart.

As parents, we have the primary responsibility for teaching and training our children. Following are some good parenting tips I believe are worth listing:

• Love your children unconditionally - Express your love, consistently show it, say it, and mean it. Never assume they know you love them.

• Tell them often that you are happy to have them in your family.

• Hug them daily.

• Have regular family council - Involve your children in family conduct and responsibility decisions.

• Control your temper – Anger and contention causes broken hearts.

• Be willing to admit mistakes.

• Give them your time - Have a weekly family home evening.

• Learn how to effectively communicate with them.

• Plan one-on-one time - Invite your child to share what’s going on in their life. Don’t include any discipline during this visit! This must be a positive experience for them so they will want to share their feelings.

• Support them in their activities.

• Express love and show respect towards their mother/father - If you are a single parent, don’t be guilty of bad-mouthing the other parent in front of them.

This is the short list. There are so many things we can do as parents to let our children know we love them with all of our hearts.

As caretakers of these precious children, perhaps we should examine our parenting style, as this will have a deep effect on their outcome.

That is a recipe for happy children – and a positive parenting experience.

Be willing to learn new things to strengthen your parenting skills, so that your family will have every chance for success.

You can do this!

You can learn good parenting skills.

Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, treasure this role of parent. It goes by all too quickly.

"Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes!"

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