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Are you willing to try to make your family a success? There are a few things you might do to do this and they just might work for you as parents. Remember no one is perfect, not even parents, and we all have those bad days.
First of all you have be authoritative as parents, you have to be in charge of the family and this means the children aren't in charge of you. You need a good relationship with your children and this is done by a few actions.
Start with love and trust as this is the foundation for being a good parent, let them know you are there for them and that you will always be there for them. This will make your children know that the entire family is a unit that needs to work and it works by everyone respecting the other members in the family.
A family needs to spend time together, not just sitting at the dinner table, or in front of the television, but being together. You can do so many things together as a family and these things don't cost a lot of money, a simple hike in the woods, a picnic by a lake, driving in the country on the weekends and so many more things. You need to have this time together to talk about your week and make plans for the future. Talk about school projects and football games and whatever else interests each member of the family.
Children want to know how their parents feel about things, they want to discuss things with their parents. Sure they want to discuss perhaps a raise in their allowance, permission to go to a movie, but important things also such as problems in school, problems with friends, advice on how to handle situations. If you as parents are having financial problems sure you don't need to include the children in on any decisions but tell them that you might not be able to afford a vacation, etc. Include them in your plans for the future, it is their future too, remember that always.
Talk to your children about your life growing up, let them know about you as a young child, as a teenager and a young adult. Compare life now as it was then. Talk to your children about their interests and concerns. Teenagers especially love to talk, but then most all children do also.
Trust your children, assume that he or she can make good decisions, then if you see they are not making good decisions, discuss your reasons why they need to change. Respect your children and you'll get respect in return as it does work both ways. Be supportive in decisions they make that you approve of, let them know you respect that
decision.
Set limits on your children in the decisions you make regarding their activities at home and away from home. You are the parents and you can approve or disapprove decisions children want to make. But above all, keep these things, love, trust, respect and understanding in your family and have confidence in your ability to be a good parent or parents.
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