How Parents Can Raise a Good Child Without Over parenting by Noah Markin
Photo by @jonathanborba
Even if we all somehow have that "innate" ability for parenting, there isn't any guidebook, tutorial, lecture or encyclopedia that can teach us how to raise a well-rounded child. It is only fair to say that raising children should be given an utterly scientific approach, however, one thing is for sure – it will take patience, diligence, and a lot of work. The key to raising good children without being a too pushy parent is not to send them to fancy private lessons, expensive camps, or extracurricular classes and expect them to be nuclear physicists. On the contrary, the key is to lead a happy, nurtured and balanced lifestyle and follow some of these pieces of advice.
Show them ethical values
If your child learns at a very young age how to put himself in other people’s shoes, they will very quickly learn the real values in life. One of the most vital components in one person's life is being able to show empathy and practice honesty, care, and humility. You can do this by practicing honesty and integrity yourself. Monkey see monkey do. Nobody is perfect, and you will surely encounter a lot of hesitation, especially because your aim is not to over parent their childhood. Play with different toys, try out various role-play activities and show them real-life values with some hand-on approach.
Let them be risk-takers but point out the right-way-out
Most people tend to learn out of their mistakes, and broadly speaking, if children are kept too tight in their comfort zone by their parents they will encounter more problems than they can handle. As much as you can, try to let them roam, when you give them pocket money, let them control it the way they want, if they have some commotion with friends, just stand aside. Children should feel comfortable taking some risks on their own. Once they have found the way to solve a problem individually, they will appreciate your support more, without you having to call them on their phone constantly.
Teach them how to respect others and have good manners
Having good manners is key. Knowing how and when to reply with "Thank you" and "Please" is the entry point to teaching your child basic respect and mindfulness outside of themselves. Once they learn how to behave in any given situation, you should teach them how to show respect towards others. This means that you first need to treat them with respect in the first place so they would know how that feels. The way you speak to and behave towards your child is the way they would act towards others. Therefore, always exude a polite and friendly tone when speaking about life-changing issues, and even with basic ones.
Motivate them to make a change
Throughout their little human lives, kids will come across numerous obstacles, succumb to different challenges and face innumerable questions. To open their eyes and prepare them for what life has installed for them, while not overparenting too much, you need to enable your children to make a change. The idea is to establish a peaceful and educational environment so they could work out the life issues using their own way and creativity. Give them the freedom to explore, to develop the notions about the world around them by doing things in their own way. Be a vigilant observer, and only interfere with mild parenting.
Play through life
If you strive to raise a well-behaved child without overparenting, make them do all the chores and other responsibilities. Don’t go picking up things after them or punishing them for not doing so, rather teach them how to clean after themselves – by playing. By making all seemingly “hard “ jobs look fun and amusing, you will contribute to your child’s future success and happiness.
Be authoritative, kind, open-minded, communicate openly, be a good role model and a good listener, and you will lead your child through the right path in life.