How do you become a better parent? Eric Barker in his weekly blog gives four simple tips to become a better parent. They are so simple you can be a better parent today.
Eric Barker has a lot of useful articles in his blog. Visit his blog Barking Up The Wrong Tree for weekly updates.
1. What would Harry Potter do? The author points out that fictional characters are great role models. Questions like what would Batman eat would encourage kids to choose an apple over french fries.
2. Emphasize values over rules. Like they say, the more rules, the more mistakes. But making fewer rules, let’s kids fill in the blanks and would get better in discerning the better course of action on their own. It’s a value skill they can carry on when they grow older.
3. Praise character, not actions. This is new to me. Asking kids if they are a “helper” (a character) versus asking them to help (an action) is more effective in getting them to help. This tip will really come in handy.
4. Explain how bad behavior affects others. Instead of punishing kids for misbehaving, explaining how their actions affects other will help them develop empathy and guilt. These two traits will be very useful in their decision making process. They are more likely to stop and think before they do any action.
Reading parenting books can be overwhleming. And with very active kids, who’s got time to read all of them. Well, these are four simple tip to be a better parent that can come in really handy.
To read the complete article, visit the original blog here.
