It’s so weird being a parent. I mean really. I remember thinking as a young kid I’d never get married adn never have kids. But then I grew up and began wanting those things. And now I’m married and have THREE kids.
But I look at my kids and realize that sometimes parenting seems easy, but sometimes it is really difficult. Not necessarily difficult in making it through the day. But in honestly shaping and growing my kids into eventual adults that wish to honor God with their lives. That takes relying on God so heavily. I mean, not just relying on Him, but giving it all to Him.
What piece of parenting advice that you have learned [or heard that made a lot of sense] would you give to someone else?
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I don’t have a kid yet, but when I do, I’m going to tell it, “I’ll buy the first pack of diapers. After that, you are on your own.” We’ll see how long it takes for her to be potty trained with that kind of an ultimatum.
The first things that come to my mind are: Always be available to your children; hold them accountable for their behaviors, but not in a harsh manner; and make sure they know they are very much loved. Pray a lot, both for your children and for guidance / wisdom in raising them, and remember that they are children, not small adults.
don’t homeschool your kids.
To Pat re: above comment: Remember the time may come when your daughter may be taking care of you while you are back in diapers known as Depends. :]
from a conversational standpoint, try to treat them like you would your best friend (or wife)… Obviously not in discipline, training, etc… but think about… it when they get into their late teens and on, it’s more about a friendship-relationship than a parenting one at that point anyway. I know that when my kids are adults (which is most of their life) I hope they see me as a great father who they can still lean on as they would a great friend. that’s a nutshell that probably needs more conversation, but it’s a blog comment, so we’ll leave it at that.
@pat – Hmmm. I’m glad I’ll have a ring side seat to see your parenting skills in action.
@g – I think the biggest thing you said was about praying.
@c – I know you’re just jealous. I mean, Jennifer Love Hewitt was homeschooled too. So was Frankie Muniz, Dave Thomas, and Ansel Adams.
@jaybrams – I agree that being conversational with your kids is ultra important. I’m realizing that more and more. And with multiple kids it takes effort in carving out time to be conversational one on one with each of them.
Hi Blake, just visiting from Writer Dad.
Just wanted to say that the best parenting advice I could give is to treat your children how you would like to be treated. Don’t shout, explain why the answer is ‘no’ and behave in a respectful and polite manner and they will follow suit.
I picked my son up from after school club tonight and one of the staff commented how polite and helpful he had been and I was so proud of that little guy. Don’t get me wrong, he is a proper boisterous into sports and lightsabre fighting little man, but he knows right and wrong and I try to be as fair with my two as I would expect others to be with me.
I can’t bear it when I hear parents yelling at their children and saying ‘because I said so’ because that would wind me up if someone said that to me.
Oh, and don’t have more children than you can give lots of individual attention to. (I know I ended a sentence with a preposition. I do that sometimes.)
One more. I think a good marriage is an important environment; your children live in it. I remember having a poster outside my preschool classroom door that read something equivalent to “Dads, the best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother well.”
Oh… one other thing. If you guys ever have kids and one of them when he’s eight years old accidentally sets fire to the living room rug… go easy on him.