Smart Parenting Tips

Children Need Your Time:

If you have young children, do not make the mistake of thinking that a trillion toys are needed to make your child happy and smart. Many parents turn their child’s room into a mini toy-shop. Children grow bored with toys, even the most costly ones and teens grow bored with gadgets that they have not learnt to value or respect. Give them your time instead.

Children Need Limits:

Meeting your child’s every demand whether it relates to eating out, choice of clothes or television habits also promotes obstinacy and stubbornness in them. There needs to be a balancing act between being totally authoritarian "because I say so" and having a very lenient, “do whatever you want” attitude. 

Children Need You To Communicate:

Learn to communicate with your children. Talk to them about everyday issues and concerns especially as they grow older. Ask for their opinions. If you make a decision that runs counter to their wishes, let them know the reasons too. 

Children Need Good Role Models:

One tip for having well behaved children is to say sorry yourself if you lose your temper or say things that you should not have said. Children learn by observation more than being told what to do. If you are not afraid to own your mistakes, they will not be afraid to say sorry when they misbehave.

Children Need Praise and Encouragement:

Never compare your children with other children. While it is all right to say, “I wish you would concentrate on your studies more,” it is very damaging to say “I wish you were intelligent like Mrs. XYZ’s daughter.” If you give the impression to your children that you deem them inferior and not praiseworthy, they might suffer from low self confidence and feel that the world is against them. Such children are most prone to grow up into rebellious, rude and even violent teenagers.

Children Need Discipline:

Many parents make the mistake of letting young children have their own personal computers in their bedrooms. If you have a computer, place it in a room from where you can monitor their online activities. Talk to them about dangers of social network sites . Addiction to such sites makes your children withdrawn, morose and disinterested in things around them. Treat it just like any other addiction and nip it in the bud. 

Children Need Consistency

Many parents think that loving your child means buying them anything that they want. I believe that loving your child means giving them a good disciplined childhood, with good values and understanding of what is right and what is wrong. 

While every child is unique and there are seldom any quick fix solutions for behavioral problems, your own approach goes a long way in shaping their personality.