Parenting Made Easier
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
By: Chava Yelloz

Tips To Show Your Children You Love Them

“As parents, we want our children to be the architects of their own character crafting, while we accept the responsibility to be architects of the environment—physical and moral. We need to create an environment in which our children can develop habits of honesty, generosity, and a sense of justice. For most of us, the greatest opportunity we personally have to deepen our own character is through the daily blood, sweat and tears of struggling to be good parents.”                    Dr. Kevin Ryan


♥ Put parenting first
Today, this is a difficult task since there is so much demand for our time.  But, being a good moms and dads means that we must consciously plan and dedicate time to parenting our kids. Good parenting means that our top priority is to develop our children’s character and their potential.

♥ How many hours of your week do you spend on parenting?
We’re always busy. We know exactly how many hours a week we put in at the office. But do we know how many are spent with our kids?  Why not plan to intertwine your children into your social life and weave yourselves into their lives.
 
♥ Be a Good Role Model
Kids need a good example to follow! We all know people learn primarily from modeling. No matter how hard you try, you can’t help avoiding being an example to your children – whether it’s a positive or negative model. So, face it – being a good role model is your most important job!

♥ Make Sure They Absorb Moral Values
Make sure you’re all eyes and ears and pay attention to what your kids are soaking up. Remember, they’re like sponges. Moral values and character are the first things they are bound to absorb. So, take care what messages they receive via songs, books, TV, Internet and movies that they are exposed to. Good parents are committed to controlling the ideas, the images and the messages that influence their children.


♥ Clear Communication
Parents need to use the language of character. Kids can’t develop a moral compass unless people around them use the clear, sharp language of right and wrong.

♥ Punish With a Loving Heart
In today’s social environment, punishment has a bad reputation. Parents have become guilt-ridden while their kids have out-of-control children. A child needs tot have limits set. True that sometimes they will ignore these limits. But, it is commonly known that human beings have always learned through receiving practical punishment. It is one of the ways human beings have always learned. Kids have to know why they are being punished and that it is part of parental love.

♥ Listen To Your Kids
Why do we usually tune out our children when they talk to us? One of the greatest things we can do for them is to take them seriously and set aside time to listen to them!

♥ Get Involved In Your Kid’s School Life
Going to school is the main part of our kid’s life. What happens in school is a combination of success and failure and of victories and frustration. How they deal with them will influence their entire lives.  Helping our children become good students is another name for helping them acquire strong character.

♥ Family Meals Are Momentous
Make a big deal out of the family meal. One of the most dangerous trends in America is the dying of the family meal. The dinner table is not only a place of sustenance and family business but also a place for the teaching and passing on of our values. Manners and rules are subtly absorbed over the table. Family mealtime should communicate and sustain ideals that children will draw on throughout their lives.

♥ Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk
Do not reduce character education to words alone. Parents should help children by promoting moral action through self-discipline, good work habits, kind and considerate behavior to others, and community service. The bottom line in character development is behavior--their behavior.


These valuable parenting tips were gleaned from the writings of Dr. Kevin Ryan of the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character, Boston University-School of Education