A parent as a close friend can be one of the best things for any child. It makes the child feel safe and relaxed in every situation, being able to share everything with the parent on a friendly note. But being too much friendly can also have some negative impacts on your child behaviour or attitude toward elders, especially the over-friendly parent. While there is no better option than being a friend of your child, it cannot be enough unless you are an ideal parent for your child.
Does that mean you should be a strict parent and not get friendly with your children? Well, you must be your child’s friend but not at the cost of being a good parent. You should be always available for your child as a parent before being a friend. A child feels safe with the presence of a responsible parent. Only doing friendly discussions with your child may not help her/him feel safe.
Parenting is not an easy job, it will always be one of the most challenging and difficult tasks. It becomes even more difficult as the child grows in age. However you must never fail on the basics of good parenting. Instead of taking everything for granted you must earn your child’s respect. If your child always feels safe and happy once you are around, you are on the right track.
Discussing your child’s problems but doing nothing to solve them will not earn your child’s respect for you. Be responsible and watchful parents all the time and you will find your kids respect you the way you want them to.
Another mistake some parents make while getting friendly with the children is to stop being strict. You must be reasonably strict with your child. After all, they may not be the best judge of everything. But strictness works best when you are an understanding and a friendly parent. Your children should feel free to share everything with you, no matter how big there problem is, but they must also know who the boss is.
You have to maintain the proper balance between being a responsible, loving, caring, strict parent and being your child’s best friend. Also make sure that you proactively discuss everything with your child and support them with their decisions. Share your life experiences and knowledge with them to be able to reach to a correct decision about everything in their life, but don’t force anything on them. Help them take correct decisions and support them in everything they feel like doing.
