Advice to Parents | Teen Ink

Advice to Parents

April 9, 2010
By konesto BRONZE, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
konesto BRONZE, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Whether you are new to parenting or an experienced veteran, know that there is always room for improving your parenting skills. Kids are very complicated creatures and it takes a lot of hard work to tame them. The most important attributes to good parenting are making your kids happy and raising them to be good people. This isn’t as simple as it sounds, or maybe it is. All you really need to do is follow a few rules and you will end up with angels for children. Remember, these are only suggestions, but they have about a 99% success rate or failure rate, depending on how you look at it.

One of the most important things is to get your kids whatever they ask for. This is the key to their happiness. Whoever told you spoiling your kids is a bad thing was greatly mistaken. If you want to be a “cool” parent or if you just want your kids to like you, buy them that car they’ve wanted for so long. With all that work they put in around the house and at school they deserve it don’t they? Of course they do. If you keep giving your kids whatever their little hearts desire, they will just keep coming back to you for more. It’s obvious that they’re showing you their appreciation with this. Even if they don’t have a particular something they want in mind, which is very rare, they will want or say they need money. That’s all that people really want nowadays, your kids being no exception. Your daughter absolutely needs that eighty dollars
For the adorable dress she saw at the mall the other day, and your son needs another forty dollars again for the new video game he wants. Not only will giving these generous sums of money to your kids make them happy, but it will also teach them to be independent individuals. By independent I mean able to receive handouts all by themselves. Spoiling your kids will definitely teach them about the importance of getting a job and making their own living. No parent wants to see their kids go, but if you spoil them enough, they could very well still be living with you when they’re forty. Who doesn’t want that? Therefore, you should, by all means, get your kids whatever they wish for.

Another very important element of good parenting is making sure you keep track of every single thing going on in your kid’s life. Before allowing them to go out you cannot forget to ask who, what, where, how, and when they are doing whatever they are doing. Because you are barging into their personal life, of course they will be truthful when answering every one of your questions. To be a good parent, you must expert the art of hovering. You don’t want your kids to exclude you from their lives, so you must include yourself in them. Try and learn everything you possibly can about what is going on in your kid’s life. This will no doubt build trust between you. Nothing will be left in the dark, so you will never feel the need to take out your spy gear.
Don’t forget about school either. Everyday, you should ask how school was. Also, make sure you know when upcoming quizzes and tests are. Don’t forget to find out what subject and during what periods your kid will be taking these. Check their online grades daily, or as often as needed, till the test/quiz grades are posted. This way you can make sure they stay on track because you know they can’t do it themselves. A much more convenient way to keep track of your kid’s life is to get a Facebook. Almost every aspect of their social life is on display and there for your viewing. All you need to do is create an account then friend request your son or daughter. Don’t worry; it is normal to be denied at least once. Once you are friends, they would love for you to write on their wall and comment on all of their pictures. If you do all of the previously stated, you won’t miss any details in your kid’s life.

While your kids are still pretty young, make sure they are sheltered and shielded from the big bad world. You should try to preserve their innocence for as long as you can. One way you could do this is by blocking certain TV channels and internet sites. You could even try and keep them from seeing R-rated movies. These measures can only go so far though. If you feel that strongly about preserving the innocence of your little angel, I suggest you take him or her out of school and maybe try homeschooling instead. This way you can prevent your child from being exposed to the bad things that might happen or might be said at public schools. Of course shielding them from pretty much everything will help prepare them for life after they leave the nest, if they ever do. No parent really wants their kids to grow up, but if parents shelter kids from the real world, they will keep them so immature and naïve that they won’t even have to grow up. How convenient. Besides, kids are too responsible to let the curiosity of what they’re not allowed to do or see get to them. They would never go do something just because they know they’re not supposed to.

Parents have so many expectations for their children. Of course they want the best for their kids. If you take most of this advice, you will, without a doubt, have succeeded in parenting. Making your kids happy should be your number one goal in life. Everyone knows that money and material possessions bring happiness, so if you want to make your kids happy, get them whatever they want. This will teach them valuable lessons on being independent. Making sure you can keep tabs on everything your son or daughter does is also very important to ensuring that he or she will be absolutely perfect. These are only suggestions, but they result in the very best of parenting today.

The author's comments:
This was written as a variation of Mark Twain's "Advice to Youth".

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.