Parenting is not an easy job. It requires full-time attention and a lot of patience as children can be very difficult.
Read some tips on parenting younger children.
- Encourage good behavior: Become their idol and . Encourage good behavior by explaining how you feel about their behavior. Reward them for good behavior by praise, good words, and smiles. Be clear and consistent in letting your child know what is not right and what is unacceptable.
- Encourage confidence: Encourage your child’s strengths, interests, and abilities. Recognize their accomplishments and don’t expect over and above their potential in academics and co –curricular activities. To be accepted and to be loved is important for a child’s confidence.
- Lay down rules: Establish rules, limits and boundaries. Make realistic rules for work, play, studies and other activities. Your child may test these limits so be consistent in your approach. Practice positive and negative reinforcement. Reward good behavior and give mild punishments for unacceptable behavior. . Discipline is not about punishments only but about recognizing good behavior as well.
- Allow them to make decisions: Do not impose your thought and feelings on your child. Talk and reason it out. Let them take small decisions and learn self-control.
- Activity is important: Encourage your child to be active. Let them play outdoor games Set a schedule for watching television. Give them educational toys as these stimulate the growth and development of their mind, social and cognitive skills, and physical coordination.
- Teach anger control: Children have an outburst when they get angry and frustrated. It is important to teach them self-control and anger control by behaving in the way you want them to behave. Help your child understand that they need to put their feelings or anger in words quite rationally and not by screaming or shouting.
- Develop a sense of responsibility: Encourage your child to help at home such as clearing the table after dinner, cleaning the shoe rack, making their own bed and tagging along with you to the supermarket. This gives them a sense of responsibility and duty towards the family. Help them learn new things such as cooking and cleaning the house. Although it takes extra time and energy to show them how to do responsibly commit to doing new activities but it is worth it .
- Relationship with peers: Encourage your child to play with peers and behave in an age-appropriate manner. Peers and friends are important for social and emotional development of a child.
Make your child feel safe, comfortable and loved at home. They should know that you love him or her and deal in a tough manner just to correct them. Build a trusting and loving relationship to ensure that he or she feels safe and secure. Be flexible and not too rigid.
