Willingness to sacrifice your own needs/wants in favor of someone else's. Acceptance of the fact that you can't control everything. Patience. TONS AND TONS of patience. Sense of humor.
Sense of humor. Flexibility. Genuine desire to be a good parent.
Unfortunately, there isn't a set formula with "mix A and B and C and you'll get D every time!" for kids, despite what some of the parenting communities might insist :). For every person that posts on an internet parenting comm thinking they're an expert and their kid is perfect, I can point out a serial killer in the making!
you should have a clear sense of your values to instill them in your children. none of that wishy washy, "I'll let them decide when they're old enough," because everything you do has an impact, and doing nothing is a decision in itself. Things that people like ajmcoqui and scifantasy have been saying fall under this, though I'd also underscore patience and discipline. have the patience and flexibility to roll with it because kids and people are unpredictable and for a lot of people, there's more variety to the human condition than they realize, but also have the wisdom to know when discipline and strong will should apply.
time (they suck it right out of you) clean ears ( you have to listen a lot) strong body (you are the jungle gym) imagination ( make up any game on the spot) voice with firm resolve ( sit! vs sit, dog, sit, sit SIT!) charge 50cents for every "whatever" you hear dance and sing
(p.s. I should start a school for parenting. but i can't say if any of this will work with a teenager)
My mom said recently that a parent is only as happy as his or her saddest child. So to me, making sure your kids are happy and safe would be the top-most criterion.
patience, sense of humor, and a determination to be consistent with your children. really. consistency is the thing that gets stressed the most in parenting classes.
I don't think there is a one size fits all answer to this question. Different kids need different things from parents. I would say one safe assumption is that as tough as it may sometimes be, you have to be the parent and not their friend. They'll hate you at the time, but most likely appreciate it later in life. I did.
Signed, Lurking in the weeds (or kudzu as it were)
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Acceptance of the fact that you can't control everything.
Patience. TONS AND TONS of patience.
Sense of humor.
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The sense of humor is especially important on some days.
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Total sticking point.
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Unfortunately, there isn't a set formula with "mix A and B and C and you'll get D every time!" for kids, despite what some of the parenting communities might insist :). For every person that posts on an internet parenting comm thinking they're an expert and their kid is perfect, I can point out a serial killer in the making!
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Yeah...
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And a good sense of one's own self–so that you don't try and live through your kids. After that, what everyone else said.
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you should have a clear sense of your values to instill them in your children. none of that wishy washy, "I'll let them decide when they're old enough," because everything you do has an impact, and doing nothing is a decision in itself. Things that people like ajmcoqui and scifantasy have been saying fall under this, though I'd also underscore patience and discipline. have the patience and flexibility to roll with it because kids and people are unpredictable and for a lot of people, there's more variety to the human condition than they realize, but also have the wisdom to know when discipline and strong will should apply.
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clean ears ( you have to listen a lot)
strong body (you are the jungle gym)
imagination ( make up any game on the spot)
voice with firm resolve ( sit! vs sit, dog, sit, sit SIT!)
charge 50cents for every "whatever" you hear
dance and sing
(p.s. I should start a school for parenting. but i can't say if any of this will work with a teenager)
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On that note...
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oh, and love is also important.
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What does it take to be a good parent?
(Anonymous) 2006-05-11 05:36 am (UTC)(link)Signed,
Lurking in the weeds (or kudzu as it were)
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