Your Role as a Parent: Seven Important Life Skills That Your Children Learn From You

Role of the Parents

Your children look up to many people, from rock stars to superheroes, but even if they won’t admit it, they look up to you most of all. As a parent, you are the primary influence in your children’s lives, which presents a wonderful opportunity to help shape who they will later become.

1. How to Deal With Feelings
When life throws you a curve ball, do you face the challenge proactively or suffer an emotional breakdown? Throughout our lives, we each will be dealt a variety of difficult challenges, and as your children grow up, they will observe how you react to difficulty. It’s okay to cry or show emotion, but you must also teach your kids that when faced with a problem, they should rise to the occasion and use their minds to find a solution.
2. How to Treat Others
You can’t scold your child for bullying if he or she sees you making fun of your coworkers or other adults. Demonstrate kindness and compassion in all situations, and it will rub off on your children. It’s also a good idea to begin teaching charity at a young age. You can do this by encouraging your children to donate the toys they no longer use to needy families.
3. How to Communicate
Communication is a very important life skill, and helping your children develop healthy practices at a young age will go a long way in securing a happy future. If you get into an argument with your children and end up angry, don’t shut down and ignore the problem. Encourage them to share their true feelings, and then respectfully share your own. Your children can only learn healthy communication if you give them an opportunity to practice.
4. How to Care For Themselves Physically and Emotionally
Teach your children the value in healthy eating, moderate exercise and a positive mental outlook from a young age, because the earlier a person learns these skills, the more likely they are to use them throughout their lives.
5. How to Manage Their Lives and Find Balance
Balance is essential for a happy life. You must show your children how to balance work, play, school and relaxation time by achieving this balance yourself. Don’t bring the stress of the office home in the evenings. Instead, dedicate that time to helping your children study or simply spending time with them.
6. How to Manage Finances
This is an area that many people have trouble with, but if you do your best to demonstrate healthy spending practices and make an effort to save money, your children are more likely to do the same.
7. How to Have Healthy Relationships
If your children grow up seeing you crying and suffering abuse at the hands of your partner, they will begin to associate that abuse with love. Never stay in an abusive or unhealthy situation for the sake of your children. What they really need is an example of a healthy and loving relationship. If you and your current partner can’t give that to them, you should remain single until you can.

Debra Beck

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