Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Parenting checklist

I recently read someplace about a parenting checklist/rules for effective parenting.. I will try to recall a few that got impinged on my brain.

1. Make peace with your child's personality and accept the child for who (s)he is.
(big one for me)
2.Make it a point to listen to your child. (practice what you preach and they will reciprocate).
3.Make one-on-one time with your child - give it 100% attention, do not take that phone call or check your email one last time before you begin. I know I will never get to my appointment with my child once I pick up my laptop.
4.Never let your child hear your talk negatively of him/her to another (even to your spouse).
5.Don't compare your child with a friend/brother/sister

Feel free to add your own..

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Golden rules... So difficult to follow:)
I'm such an impulsive mom. Be it to whack him or to get him the most unwanted toy!! Have long way to go, I suppose!

Sujatha said...

Oh don't be so hard on yourself. It is tough to balance what you should accept with what you should help your children grow out of. I think, we as parents are forever trying to correct our children. For me, the tough part is understanding what motivates my kids and remembering to use that technique. I am impulsive too. :)

Lakshmi said...

Paddu,
Whacking works at your son's age. When your son is taller than you, then it becomes a lil difficult.. My point is that we end up wasting so much time and energy when we wrestle with crop-ups.
I'm learning (slowly) to get organized to avoid some battles - be it to prepare the children in advance or prepare myself.