How to Be A Good Parent – A Guide to Modern Parenting

Raising kids is one of the most difficult and fulfilling jobs. Also, it is the only job that you are not prepared for. You might feel that you are not capable of being a good parent, but it can turn out to be the thing you are best at. Just a little awareness and a bit of attention, and you can be the best parent ever.

We all want to be the best for our children but the modern era has made things difficult for us. There is conflicting advice on how to make the kids successful, confident, and kind. You cannot rely on the old parenting techniques as the world is changing every day and if you are not up to date, you will be left behind. Even children these days don’t listen to parents who don’t know about the new technology and do not notice the changes. So, it is time to change yourself and learn how to be a good parent.

What is Good Parenting?

Research says that good parenting means raising a self-reliant child who has high self-esteem, who listens to you and respects you rather than fears you. It means to be supportive rather than being authoritative all the time. It might seem bookish but modern parenting requires you not to give orders to your children instead treat them with love and care.

As the child steps into teenagerhood, there will be more challenges and their thinking patterns will also change, but being a good parent, you must be firm and consistent with your approach. Whether you want your infant to learn to sleep through the night, your toddler to manage the toys, or your children to be able to resolve conflicts, you must keep your expectations low and reasonable. Kids take time to learn and good parenting requires patience.

What Are the Traits Of Good Parenting?

Remember, there is no right way of raising a child. Each child is different and so they require to be treated differently. There is no single answer to ‘how to be a good parent’ but we can look into some basics traits that you can acquire to become a good parent. Just keep in mind, being a good parent doesn’t only mean pleasing a child, it means doing the best for them.

Be a Good Role Model

If you are taking drugs, your kid will be inclined towards it too. You can’t create a conflict between what you do and what you tell them to do. From the very start, kids learn by watching you and they imitate you. The younger they are, the more they will learn from you. So, it is better to consider bashing out and doing inappropriate things especially when your kids are around. Behave as you would like them to behave. Remember that you are constantly being watched by them so it is a golden opportunity to make them learn many things. If you are ready for this, then you surely know how to be a good parent.

Make Time for Your Kids

In this busy era, it is very difficult for parents to even have dinner with their kids, let alone spend some extra time. But, if you want your children to listen to you, take out some time for them. They don’t know how many struggles you have gone through for them; they just know that you are not giving them the time they deserve. Wake up early and eat breakfast with them or go for a walk with them at night. When children don’t get attention, they often do the wrong things to make sure they are noticed.

You can also schedule a routine with them and decide for a day in week or month when you would take them out for some refreshing time. There are plenty of other ways to connect as well. Give them a surprise visit at school, leave a note in their lunch box, cook their favorite meal, and much more. Remember that younger kids require more attention than adolescents. So, make sure you are giving them what they deserve.

Appreciate Them When They Do Good

Have you noticed how many times have you behaved negatively or bashed your kids in a day? Of course, you wouldn’t criticize them unless they have done something bad, but have you noticed the things they are doing good? If not, then this is the time.

Catching them doing good and appreciating them for it is one of the most effective modern parenting techniques. Make them realize that you are noticing them and you know that they are becoming better day by day. The more you encourage them to be good, the more they will feel good about you and themselves. You can also give them rewards.

Communicate Properly

Gone are the times when children used to do things just because their parents asked them to do so. Now, they want proper reasoning and logic behind your decisions and guidance, so give them that. You can’t escape it. So, it is better to make them realize that they matter and they deserve to know why and how things must happen. You will open a door to a better understanding by explaining to them your logic.

Express your feelings, expectations, if there is an issue, tell them. This is the time for communication where kids must listen from you what you feel and they will do the same. Be open to their suggestions and views as well. Let them express themselves openly.

Be Flexible with Your Parenting Style

You never know if the technique that worked today will work tomorrow as well. So, be ready to change your parenting style every day as per the requirement. With kids, you need to change every day and be patient as well. You might have asked your kid not to use a cell phone at night but you catch them doing that again. Don’t be hopeless, maybe you need to have a different approach the next time. Since the children are changing every day, you need to change your style too.

You Love Must Be Unconditional

We often make the mistake of taking the guidance to the next level. You must guide and correct your child but also notice how your child is receiving that guidance. When you are correcting them, don’t blame them and criticize their personalities, just tell them what went wrong and how it can be corrected. Also, parents often make the mistake of admiring one kid over another just because of the mistakes the other one has made. It is a wrong approach that can ruin the personality of the ignored child.

Monitor Their Digital Media Usage

Parents don’t realize it at the right time that how important it is for the kids to have limited and secure screen time. Not to mention, digital media is distracting our kids in plenty of ways. These are the times when you can’t put too many restrictions on your kids especially when it comes to technology. They want to have a phone, use social media, play games, and much more because this is what they see around them.

You can’t stop them from using mobile phones but you can keep a check on them. Issues like predating, cyberbullying, invasion of privacy, and much more have taken social media usage to the next level which can be dangerous for your kids. So parents must pursue children's safety programs to make sure their kids are protected. Not only, it can help you keep an eye on them, you can also teach them the right use of digital media and technology.

How to Be a Good Parent with the Help of Secureteen?

Most of the parents don’t think that using parental control is necessary for the well-being of their kids. They are concerned about their kids’ privacy and independence. What they don’t realize is that this privacy and freedom can cost their kids their life. Yes, you read it right. As the issues of social media are rising day by day, the most common victim of these issues is young kids. There have been reports about the kids who have even committed suicide due to the harassment they faced over digital media.

Would you want your kid to handle this all alone? Not at all. You can let them enjoy their independence, but at the same time make sure you know what they are up to. You can use parental control apps like SecureTeen to keep an eye on them along with managing their screen time. SecureTeen allows you to know what they are posting online, who they are talking to and if they are being indulged in some sort of danger.

Being a good parent might seem like an impossible thing, but if you know the right approach and understand modern times, you can do better. The key to ‘how to be a good parent’ is to guide them towards a better life along with protecting them.