Dr. James Dobson wrote a book title "Parenting isn't for Cowards" Who would have thought how difficult parenting can be? Who is the perfect parent? I have not met them yet. But I have learned many things from parents through the years. I think we all can learn from each other.
My wife and I read lots of books on parenting that gave us good ideas. However I would have to say that I learned the most from other successful parents. We asked other parents a lot of questions. Such as "What did you do when your kids lied?" "How do you handle disrespect?" "Did you give your child an allowance?" These and many more questions were answered through the years by parents who seemed successful. We wanted to learn as much as we could about parenting. Don't be afraid to ask for parenting advise from your own parents, teachers, other successful parents or clergy. The more you learn about parenting the better parent you will be and the benefits for your children will be amazing.
Your children will grow up faster than you can imagine. Time will race by your life and before you know it your children will want to spread their wings and fly away to college or a career. You will sit back and wonder how it could have gone by so fast. Spend time with your children. I really don't believe how some people say "Its not the quantity of time but the quality" Your kids need both quantity and quality. They need you! If you spend quantity time with them when they are small and they are comfortable and safe around you, when they become teenagers they will want to spend time with you. When I was young I heard the song "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin, its the story of a father who was too busy to spend time with his son, and when he retired he wanted to spend time with his grown up son, but unfortunately, his boy grew up to be just like him and was too busy for his own family and his father. I lived my life by this song. I wanted my kids to know that they were more important to me than anything else. Sure we all work and seem busier now than we've ever been. Don't let your children's childhood pass you by. Make your children your priority. Their life should be your life. What better way to leave a legacy than the values you can teach your children.
We were watching television as a family one night and the premise of the show we were watching was how a child grew up to be like his parents. I turned to my son and asked him "Do you want to grow up like me?", with a smile on my face expecting him to say no. But he said "Yes in many ways I do". I thought that was an interesting answer. He wants to be like me in some ways, but he wants to grow and be his own man, stand up on his own two feet and be independent of his parents. That was my goal, I didn't want my children to be dependent on me or my wife, after they grew up.
The purpose of this blog is for parents, teachers, counselors, parents to be, to ask questions and hopefully find answers on parenting ideas.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment