Parenting is difficult enough.
And so is skill.
And so is good.
Putting them together is like doing Calculus while balancing yourself in the 50 meter- elevated pole.
Good parenting skills.
Some parents feel that they fail as parents when they compare themselves to other parents.
This is not the way parenting goes.
Like you, other parents have different sets of circumstances.
Points of comparison are small like having kids with the same age as you have.
On the other hand, parents feel that they are a failure when their kids grow up and become people they as parents like them to be.
Some parents feel that when a child becomes a singer touring with the band instead of a doctor, they feel that they failed.
No.
Parenting is not a one blue print of what you as a parent want to do to your children.
Good parenting skills involve time.
You do not just become the good parent in two weeks.
Like other skills, parenting involves time.
You learn as your children are growing up.
And learning as parents simply do not stop even if your children have their own children.
Good parenting involves a lot of sacrifices.
As a parent, you simply cannot go on one week vacations with your friends to stay on a nice beach resort.
You can do that when you were single but as a parent, your children are your responsibility.
You sacrifice some things that are important to you but you have to remember that your family is the most important.
Good parenting also is a big commitment to become worthy of emulation.
Good parents are their children's role model and hero.
Little kids especially watch the way their parents talk, react and act.
They simply do not perfectly know yet the difference between bad and good and right and wrong.
Children depend on their parents for wisdom.
Children will discover the world more as they grow older.
This is when the foundation of good morals and values will be tested.
Your children will encounter difficulties and struggles along the way but when you raised them up good, you will not worry so much because they are grounded.
One good parenting skill is the skill of forgiveness and acceptance.
Sometimes, because of extreme disappointment and frustration over their children, some parents simply give up.
However, this is when your children will need you the most.
The moments when nobody will ever care to accept them.
As bad as they may seem, parents are still the number one source of forgiveness and acceptance.
Of course it will take time because of the pain but love should never fade away.
Good parenting skills are not simply a to- do list or a checklist of what is right to do as a parent.
Rather, good parenting skills are something that is learned through time and experiences and are based very much on what is in your heart.
May love, grace, hope and faith rule in your heart as you begin to reflect them on your children.
Happy parenting!