Good Parenting is a rewarding yet challenging journey that requires patience, love, and creativity. As a parent, you always strive to find better ways to manage your time and simplify daily routines. That’s where these tips come in handy for good parenting! These clever tricks and tips can make your life as a parent a little easier and more enjoyable. Here are some tried and tested parenting hacks to help you navigate the wonderful world of parenting.
1. Triple ‘I’, Instead of Instructions show Involvement for Good Parenting.
It’s very obvious as a human being we don’t like to follow instructions, same is the case with kids, they also don’t like instructions. Kids do not follow instructions but they follow actions, which means they just try to copy you. You also must have observed your kid doing things that he or she saw you doing. That is how they learn and grow, by following actions and not instructions.
Say if you tell them that it’s time to bed and go brush your teeth, they won’t feel like following the instructions. Instead what should be done is to get involved and tell them that now it’s time to go to bed and let us brush our teeth. You also pick your brush and give them their brush and brush your teeth together.
What happens here is that our involvement increases their interest in that activity. They will enjoy it and you will also definitely love it. And after a few days, you will see the change, they will be telling you before going to bed let’s brush our teeth.
This trick can help you in various situations.
Now try this trick for other tasks you want to get done. Like, if you want them to drink milk, fill milk in 2 mugs, one for the kid and one for yourself. Things like washing hands before meals, leaving shoes outside before entering the home, and all. Just remember to lead by action and not by instruction.
We can understand this even better by looking at nature. As we can see cats, cows, dogs, lions, and so many animals and their small ones. Ever wondered how do they teach their new one? How does a lion or tiger teach it’s kid to hunt? They don’t hand over a set of instructions to be followed during hunting. What they do is teach by doing things in front of their kids and then gradually involving their kids in tasks they want to teach.
2. Communicate More, Ignore Less.
As we know good communication is the basis of a healthy relationship. It’s not just true for grown-ups, but it also applies to kids. If we want a healthy bond with our little ones, we need to communicate more with them. And how to achieve that, very simple, just by stopping ignoring them.
A lot of times it happens that we are doing some work or busy with something. A kid comes to us to say something or to share something but we just ignore it by saying No, Stop It or Not Now (Excessive use of NO can be harmful). And the kid turns around and goes away, we may be thinking he’ll be ok or he’ll forget after some time. But if we continue doing this practice for long we are pushing our kids away and that is not at all good parenting.
If today you are ignoring your kid, thinking that his little talks are pointless, in the future he won’t be sharing his important issue with you. Instead, you should hear them out whenever they come to you. If you are too busy or doing some important work and tell them to talk to you later, then don’t forget to talk to them later.
Read: How to Say NO to Kids Without Saying a NO.
3. Ask for Their Help and They Will Ask You for Your Help.
Although we want our kids to be capable enough to do their tasks on their own, but they still are kids. We may see many a time that our kid is doing something but after multiple failed attempts the kid leaves the task. Because somewhere in his mind it comes that he can’t do. That’s where our role comes into play. This is the point where a little help is important. And more importantly, if we think of a bigger picture, that is, how to ask for help, that they learn when it’s time to ask for help, and that it’s okay to ask for help.
Now the question is how to make this happen.
Obviously, it won’t happen in one day. Start with simple steps, just find out some simple tasks in your daily chores within the kid’s capabilities, and ask them to help you. As you make it ( asking your kid for help) a routine habit, sooner or later the kid also develops this feeling of asking for help when stuck instead of leaving the task.
And this is not the end, one more benefit that it brings is Trust. When your kid asks for your help, you will yourself feel that your kid is developing more trust in you, and eventually will develop a greater bond between you and your kid.
4. Be Careful What You Appreciate, They Will do Again and Again What is Appreciated.
We all love being appreciated for whatever we do, and we tend to do those things more often that get appreciated. Appreciation works as Encouragement. This may be correlated to kids also, as they also like it when they get appreciation. We should appreciate our kids. Actually, we should appreciate them a lot whenever they do something good. But one thing we should always remember is to appreciate only good acts.
Note: Over Pampering is also Harmful for Child
Sometimes, what happens is kids do something inappropriate, but the way they do it and with their innocence. That act looks so funny we ask them to do it again. For example, suppose a kid is playing with a dog and starts pulling the dog’s ear or tail. The way the kid is doing it looks funny and we often laugh at it. Our laughter goes as a signal of appreciation for them, and they repeat it to make us laugh. But after two or three laughs that we enjoyed, we should stop the kid from doing it. Otherwise, the kid will catch this bad habit of pulling the ears and tails of animals, and it may put the kid in a dangerous situation.
You may come across so many such situations in which a kid’s act looks funny (but could be dangerous), and you can’t control your laughter. For once, it’s alright to enjoy the moment, kids’ childhood should be cherished. But be careful that your kid doesn’t repeat that type of act which can harm them. Here you can understand what good parenting is, appreciate good acts, and discourage acts that can be dangerous for your kids.
5. No Comparisons, Embrace Uniqueness.
It is important to recognize and value the individuality of your kid. Avoid the temptation to compare them with others, as each kid is special and possesses their own unique strengths and qualities. Embrace and celebrate the distinctiveness of your kid, as it will nurture their self-confidence and allow them to flourish in their own way.
Also Read: 8 Reasons Why Comparing is Bad For Child.
Comparison can poison your kid’s mind. If you compare your kid with their siblings that will create a sibling rivalry. And if you compare your kid with other kids, it may develop a low self-esteem and low confidence level in them. They may get the notion that they are incapable of doing things properly and are not able to live up to your expectations. It will have a detrimental effect on their mental growth.
What if I tell you about a situation that comparison can lead to which you would dislike. Your kid comparing you to other Parents. Will you be OK with that comparison, NO. It will dig deep into you. So don’t make comparison a normal habit. Otherwise, your kid will also start comparing you with other parents and that is not good at all.
Let’s understand this concept of NO COMPARISON in this way.
Can we compare an elephant to a tiger for speed? Is there any chance that we can compare a dog and a kite for flying capabilities? Can we really be unbiased to have a swimming competition between a shark and a lion? No, we can’t compare. That is the reason we should avoid comparison among kids. Cherish their individual capabilities and let them flourish to full capacities.
6. Self Care for Good Parenting.
As we now know it, parenting is tough and exhausting. Whole days are spent running after the kids, playing with them, preparing their meals, and then feeding them. At the end of the day, you may feel totally drained out, but the satisfaction of doing well in taking good care of your kid keeps you motivated. But as days pass, your exhaustion level will keep on increasing, resulting in frustrations. Your kid’s acts may start to irritate you. And in some situations, your reaction won’t be what you like, and you will feel guilty.
Let’s walk through a situation.
Suppose as a mother you did great in taking care of your child the whole day. You did all the stuff, playing with them, giving them meals, and doing all your daily routine work. At the end of the day, you are exhausted. But then your kid comes to you and insists on playing, nothing wrong with his/her request. But as you are drained out you try to convince your kid that you are too tired. Then you ask your husband to play with the kid. But he is also too tired. You then again tell your kid that you’ll play the next day or make some other promise for the next day and the kid agrees to it.
You can manage this way only for some days. After that, these innocent requests will start to irritate you and you will start ignoring your kid, pushing them away, or even scolding them. Afterward, you may realize that your reactions were not appropriate, but at that moment you couldn’t help yourself.
So the point here is, while taking good care of your kids, you should give some attention to your health also. Don’t let the parenting pressure turn into frustration. When you are fit, both mentally and physically, you will able to give more to your kids. You will find more energy and enthusiasm to tackle new challenges that come up daily in parenting life. You will feel more equipped and strong in dealing with your kid’s behavior which otherwise you may find irritating and frustrating.
NOTE: Self Care Journal.
Taking care of yourself as a parent is a continuous process. Find what works best for you and adapt your self-care routine as needed. Set aside time for activities that recharge you, whether it’s reading a book, practicing a hobby, or simply taking a walk. Have a good and nutritious diet. By prioritizing your well-being, you’ll be better equipped to nurture and care your children.
Remember, every child and family is unique, so adapt these tips to fit your own circumstances and parenting style. All the tips may not exactly fit in, you may have to customize a little to be suitable for your family and lifestyle. Enjoy the journey and treasure the special moments along the way!
If there is something you want to share you can write in the comment section.
