From the moment your new child enters your life, you worry about how she will turn out. You want her to be honest, trustworthy, reliable, dependable, polite, sensitive and so much more. Developing a positive, trusting and loving relationship with your child will allow her to turn to you for assistance and advice as she grows, advises Laurissa Lock, a Family Development Specialist in Smethport, Pa. You can easily accomplish this by following a few simple tips about child rearing.
Love
From the moment your child comes into your life, she needs to know you love her. Tell your child you love her and give her lots of hugs and kisses on a daily basis, advises FamilyDoctor.org. You can show your child how much you love her by being there for her when she becomes upset, helping her to understand her feelings, talking to her about her behaviors, and giving her independence where appropriate, advises Lock.
Listen
When you take the time to listen to your child, you make him feel important and let him know you have interest in his thoughts and feelings, advises FamilyDoctor.org. Even infants and toddlers communicate, if you take the time to listen and pay attention to their attempts at communicating, advises Laurissa. Responding to nonverbal communication will help your child express himself verbally, recommends OneToughJob.org. Be sure to make time to talk with your child, even as he ages into his pre-teen years and older. When talking with him, give him your full attention, avoid interrupting him and give him nonverbal encouragement, such as leaning toward him, occasionally saying "uh-huh" or smiling when appropriate.
Setting Limits
Criticize your child's behavior, not your child, advises FamilyDoctor.org. If your child misbehaves, do not tell her she was bad. Instead, tell her what she did was wrong and explain a more appropriate behavior. Make clear and consistent rules. This means that the consequence for breaking a rule should be the same each time it is broken. Therefore, parents, baby-sitters and any other family member should use the same rules for your child. Common discipline areas as a child ages include lying, steeling and cheating, states OneToughJob.org. If you find your child lying, steeling or cheating, you need to talk with them to find out exactly why they behaved the way they did, emphasize family rules, figure out a way to reward them when they behave properly and set a good example. OneToughJob.org advises talking to your child's school counselor or pediatrician, if his lying, stealing or cheating gets out of control.
Time
Spend plenty of time with your child. FamilyDoctor.org advises that children often misbehave when they need attention. Spend time with your child by reading together, playing together, walking together or doing chores together. Mrs. Lock advises that when a parent spends a lot of quality time with their child, a stronger bond builds between a child and the parent, making disciplining and communicating easier.
Praise
Your child needs to know how proud he makes you. Each time he learns something new, behaves well or conquers a challenge tell him how proud you feel, advises FamilyDoctor.org. You help build your child's self-esteem when you praise his achievements, good decisions and positive attitude, advises OneToughJob.org.
References
- Laurissa Lock, BS; Family Development Specialist for Parents As Teachers; Smethport, Pa
- FamilyDoctor.org: Parenting Tips
- OneToughJob.org: Lying, Steeling, And Cheating
- OneToughJob.org: Raising Great Teens
- OneToughJob.org: Disciplining Children Age 6-8
