Family & Personal

Seven Ways to Become Productive Parents

There are different ways for parents to become more productive. Here are things that they can do: Listen: Many parent poor listeners. Communication is essentially a two-way discussion. Unless parents listen to their children, they won’t get enough information and make proper decision. It is not a good thing if parents just tell children what…

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There are different ways for parents to become more productive. Here are things that they can do:

Listen: Many parent poor listeners. Communication is essentially a two-way discussion. Unless parents listen to their children, they won’t get enough information and make proper decision. It is not a good thing if parents just tell children what to do, but never listen to them. If parents fail to listen to children, they will be less willing to communicate.
Be reasonable: Parents need to be open to discussion and be flexible. We need to ask to ourselves whether we can be reasoned with. If children feel that things are unfair, they won’t become approachable. It will be more difficult for them to make up their mind. If parents are inflexible, there will be a real rebellion inside the house.
Talk when there are problems: It is not a good thing if parents give children a silent treatment. It is acceptable for parents to get angry about something and they may need some time to collect their thought. The silent period is also a good time for children to think about things that they have done wrong. However, prolonged silence could cause grievances and problems won’t be solved. When everything has calmed down, it is a good time to start talking and find solutions to problems.
Resist anger: Triggers to anger may be a daily occurrence, but parents should resist them. If parents get angry too quickly, they will be too scared to do anything. If children start to tiptoe around us, then it is an indication that something is wrong.
Encourage independence: By encouraging independence, it doesn’t mean that you can immediately allow a 15 year old to drive car regularly. Independence can be given gradually, depending on the age and capability of your children. As an example, young children can be asked to be more independent, by taking off their own coat and putting on their own shoes. Show children that it’s a cool thing to be independent and mimic what adults are doing. In some families, it is painfully slow for children to get independence. Parents need to find out what they can do to help children assume more responsibilities. Lack of independence could lead to resentment and frustration. On the other hands, some parents are over permissive and they allow children, beyond their normal responsibilities. Children also need to have discipline and regulations. It is a good proactive to have clear limits and boundaries inside the house. If parents appear to condone wrongdoings, children will start to lose their respect.
Set sensible standards: Children can be constantly put down by unrealistically high standards. If parents expect too much from children, this can exasperate their children. High expectations from parents could cause the loss of self esteem.
Set examples: Parents can’t tell children to be considerate and kind, if they are not considerate and kind. Children will see if parents often gossip, argue and act rudely to other adults. Children can easily spot hypocrisy and parents need to watch their behaviors. They can easily spot double standards. If parents smoke, they shouldn’t be surprised to see their teenage children smoke as well.