What Is Good and Bad Parenting?

Parenting is part rulebook-based and part figuring-things-out-as-you-go. There is no one specific way to go about it. Still, it should remain a responsibility delivered with utmost love, commitment, and discipline. It’s a challenging job, but it rewards like no other.

Parents make their fair share of right and wrong decisions when it comes to their children. However, mistakes and failures don’t make one a bad parent. If you visit Parenting Tipster, you’ll realize that parental shortcomings are all part of the process. Even better, learning from them helps you become the best parent you can be. So, what makes a parent fall under the “bad” category?

The Main Difference Between Good and Bad Parenting

For most parents, the goal is to raise kids to become decent, upstanding members of society. Good parents work to achieve this by guiding and disciplining their children, so their kids grow up striving to become the best they can be. These are parents who remain steadfast in their love and support of their children, especially when their little ones feel like they are failing in their goals.

A good parent understands that children respond to disciplinary approaches differently. They also understand that what works for one child may not necessarily work for the other. Good parents are aware that the different stages of growth bring out different behaviors in children. What’s more, they are able to handle each phase effectively.

On the other hand, bad parents may or may not know about all these but couldn’t bring themselves to care either way. They tend to let their kids be, giving in to their child’s wishes most of the time because they feel it would be easier.

How to Not Be a Bad Parent

Most parents don’t intentionally set out to be bad parents but may find themselves labeled as such because of a lack of guidance on how to handle things. Whether or not you’re a first-time parent, consider swearing by the following tips for raising your kids:

Never Negotiate

Children are considered “wild” up until toddler age. Most of the time, they’ll do what their instincts tell them, even with your guidance. Hence, if guiding them isn’t high on your priority list at this stage in their life, that could spell major problems down the road. You have to be firm when telling them what to do and what not to do but still be caring and compassionate in your delivery.

Never hesitate to tell your kids that what they’re doing is “bad” or is “wrong.” And never, under any circumstance, negotiate with your children, telling them that if they stop doing a particular thing, you’ll reward them. Bribery isn’t the way to stop misbehavior; educating and disciplining are.

“Wrong Is Wrong” Under Any Circumstance

Child rearing through the formative years tends to stretch parents to their limits. Even when something is obviously wrong, toddlers have a way of adding humor to a situation to make you dismiss the bad part entirely. But that shouldn’t be.

A curse word is a curse word, no matter how funny it is coming from your little angel’s mouth. Even if your initial reaction is to laugh, you’d still need to do something to rectify the situation. Though, seriously, try not to laugh the next time it happens.

When hearing your child speak a bad language for the first time, ask them where they heard it. If it was from an adult or an older sibling at home, tell them it’s a bad word, and it was wrong of the person to say it. Also, teach them that if they ever hear that person or anyone saying that word, tell them to stop saying it because it’s a bad word. This is the kind of instruction children understand and usually won’t forget to follow.

If the Situation Calls for a “No,” Say No

Some parents can’t help but say yes to their kids all the time, but this can do irreparable damage in the future. The same thing happens when parents ignore unacceptable behavior by their children and excuse it with “they are just a toddler.”

That isn’t exactly a recipe for raising a kind and compassionate child. Instead, you’d be living with a hard-headed child who may likely grow up to become a difficult adult.

When this happens, you’d really have no one but yourself to blame by not saying no to bad behavior. When you continue to let children believe the world revolves around them by not showing your disapproval, they’ll likely continue believing that until they become adults.

Being a Good Parent Requires Strength

Being a good parent isn’t easy. You’d have to strike the right balance between love and discipline, be strong enough to make the hard decisions, and know how to convey right and wrong reasonably. There may be times when you want to give up, but your child’s love for you will make it all worth it.