As much as non-parents see child rearing as a walk in the park, those with kids know that it is a constant, difficult and occasionally frustrating job. With high expectations for perfect child behaviour and raising a child to be polite, safe and, most importantly, happy, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to parenting.
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There are some basics to raising a child of any age that all parents can easily master. From birth to the teenage years, the seemingly impossible task of raising your child well can be achieved.
From birth…
Starting at birth until the toddler years, it’s important to realise that children often learn in a “monkey see, monkey do” manner whereby the adult’s behaviour is mimicked – regardless of the social connotations of the behaviour.
By setting an example to the child from a very early age, it will help them to develop these essential manners far earlier than their peers. Try and stay ‘on form’ in front of the child wherever possible, remembering all that children can often pick up on even the smallest detail, which can sometimes be forgotten when we are around friends and family.
Toddlers, while unable to understand the social connotations of manners, can certainly be taught to remember “please” and “thank you”. They will, eventually, begin to understand what these words mean once they have become an integrated part of the socialisation.
The Good Behaviour Book by Dr William Sears and Martha Sears is a fantastic handbook for these issues, dealing with the very basics as discussed here, to helping your child break habits from thumb sucking, to accepting new siblings.
Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet will also help encourage good behaviour in young children, though it is always important to ensure food is never used as a bribe, or seen as ‘evil’. With plenty of fresh food, the odd treat now and again will help your child learn about rewards and balance!
From teen-hood…
As your child enters their teenage year, they face new challenges in addition to those their parents faced during their formative years. Perhaps one of the most important things parents must now teach their teens about is the internet.
Online etiquette, otherwise known as ‘netiquette’, is an important part of life online and one that is important for children and teenagers to learn in preparation for their adult lives.
From a young age, it’s important to teach children about privacy both in day to day life as well as online. Reminding them to never share passwords is one of the earliest lessons that can be taught to children, as outlined in Family Safety Online Guide by Martha Merritt of Norton Security by Symantec.
The guide can be downloaded for free and helps to teach parents how to help with children interact online from as young as three years old, to college years and beyond.
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