Essential skills of responsible parents include financial awareness, patience, discipline, ability to communicate well, and stress management to name a few. A complete list will be much longer as the meaning of ‘skill’ is something that a person can do very well. And one has to be very good at a great number of things in order to raise a happy, healthy, and confident child who will succeed in life. There’s also the matter of personal, cultural, social, and other differences. Because everyone’s situation is unique the sets of good parenting skills differ for every family. However, some basics are the same for everyone, and those are:
7 Must-Have Skills of Responsible Parents
1. Financial awareness and budget management
Good parenting is not entirely about the actual parenting but also about providing your child with the best environment for growth and development. This includes providing them with good food, education, healthcare, and entertainment, all of which requires wise money management.
Competent parents need to know how to make money, budget, plan their expenses and savings. They also need to pass this knowledge onto their children as it’s one of the most important life skills.
Useful read on the subject:
- Finance 101 for Kids: Money Lessons Children Cannot Afford to Miss
- What All Kids (and adults too) Should Know About . . . Savings and Investing
- The Kids’ Money Book: Earning, Saving, Spending, Investing, Donating
2. Patience
Among the skills of responsible, parents patience is the hardest to acquire, especially if it’s not inherent to your natural temperament. The first years of your baby’s life will be extremely stressful and it’s quite natural for an adult to lose patience and even become angry with the child’s lack of understanding of some basic concepts. However, you must always remember that you are dealing with a child who literally doesn’t know better. It’s your duty to teach them and therefore you must be patient with them.
One of the worst things that a parent can do is to lose their temper and take it out on the child. This will leave mental scars that will haunt your baby for the rest of their life. Never allow yourself this and learn to walk away if you feel your patience is slipping. If it’s not a natural behavior for you, start teaching yourself right now. Mastering the skill of patience will help you manage stress, be a better parent and a happier person in general.
Useful read on the subject:
- Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting
- Positive Parenting: An Essential Guide
- Is That Me Yelling?: A Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Kids to Cooperate Without Losing Your Cool
3. Communication
Ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills of responsible parents. It does not only benefit your relationship with the child and enable you to raise them better. When you have the skill yourself, you’ll be able to pass it on thus making your child’s life much easier by default.
Communication skills are essential for the survival and success in society. As there are over 7 billion people on the planet and the projections of world population growth state there would be nearly 10 billion of us by 2050, everyone has to be able to communicate and function well in society.
From the good parenting perspective, communication skills allow parents to express their encouragement or disapproval in the most efficient manner. This means they can raise happier and more successful children.
Useful read on the subject:
- How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk
- The 5 Love Languages of Children: The Secret to Loving Children Effectively
- Between Parent and Child: The Bestselling Classic That Revolutionized Parent-Child Communication
4. Discipline
Both self-discipline and ability to discipline the child effectively are vital skills of responsible parents. It ties in with the patience as one has to be in complete control of themselves to maintain the right level of discipline.
To be a competent parent you need to understand which punishments are age-appropriate and effective considering your child’s unique situation. This depends on many factors ranging from the kid’s health to your income level. Consider consulting a child psychologist as well as studying various parenting books and forums to develop your personal ‘disciplinary scale’.
As a good parent you also need to be able to take the blame and admit being wrong when this is necessary. This will help improve your relationship with your children as they will see that you also are a human being capable of making mistakes and ready to get the deserved punishment. In the end, this will make you closer and set good example for your kids.
Remember, in many cases the mistakes children make are your mistakes as well. A part of the blame rests at your door for not teaching them better. Self-discipline is also about acknowledging this and learning from these mistakes to be a better parent.
Useful read on the subject:
- 1-2-3 Magic: 3-Step Discipline for Calm, Effective, and Happy Parenting
- No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
- Positive Discipline: The Classic Guide to Helping Children Develop Self-Discipline, Responsibility, Cooperation, and Problem-Solving Skills
5. Stress management
Stress management isn’t only one of the basic parenting skills. It’s a necessary skill for survival in the stress-inducing world of today. Medical statistics indicate that stress takes a great toll on your health. It’s even worse for your kids as they might be forced to spend their formative years under this heavy burden.
As one of the skills of responsible parents you need to exercise stress management both personally and as a family. You also need to help your children manage their stress. To do that you have to understand what their stressors are. Bear in mind that as an adult you might not consider a classmate not liking your choice of music a problem, but for a teen this might be a huge personal problem.
So, be open-minded, patient, and respectful towards your children. And then go ahead and have a family outing for stress relief.
Useful read on the subject:
- Master of Mindfulness: How to Be Your Own Superhero in Times of Stress
- A Still Quiet Place: A Mindfulness Program for Teaching Children and Adolescents to Ease Stress and Difficult Emotions
- Totally Chill: My Complete Guide to Staying Cool
6. Healthy lifestyle and diet planning
Health management is one of the basic parenting skills and healthy lifestyle planning is a part of it. Doing this and instilling these positive habits into your kids will help prevent many health problems in the future. Developing a healthy diet for your kids and teaching them to love it is an especially important concern today, as child obesity has become an epidemic.
The skills of responsible parents aimed to protect your child’s health include:
- Designing a healthy diet for your family
- Exercising regularly and teaching your kids to do the same
- Teaching your children first-aid techniques
- Learning to identify symptoms of common health conditions and how to treat them
If your child has some health issues, you will also have to learn how to manage them and get them into a proper routine.
Useful read on the subject:
- Health, Safety, and Nutrition for the Young Child
- Yoga for Kids and Their Grown-Ups
- Nourish Your Tribe: Empowering Parents to Grow Strong, Smart, Successful Kids
7. Teaching
On its most basic level good parenting is teaching your child how to be a good person. You have to do this by example but also by explaining them various social, psychological, sociological, and emotional concepts in a way they can understand.
Looking up specialized literature for teachers will definitely help you improve your own parenting skills.
Useful read on the subject:
- Parents Rising: 8 Strategies for Raising Kids Who Love God, Respect Authority, and Value What’s Right
- Positive Child Guidance
- Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids in a Screen-Driven World
Skills of Responsible Parents: In Conclusion
To be a good parent you have to be a patient and loving person ready to teach your child how to be the same. You also need to know how to manage your finances, health, and lifestyle in the most efficient way, and again be able to pass on these skills. Most importantly, you have to admit and face up to your mistakes and grow from them, so your kids can learn to do this as well.
Do you agree with this list? What would you add to it?
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