Monitoringclub.org – As a parent, it is normal to want the best for your children. However, parenting is not always a smooth sail. It comes with its fair share of challenges, and sometimes you just feel like giving up. In such moments, having a positive parenting approach can make a significant difference in your family dynamics.
Positive parenting is one of the Parenting Styles that still continue to be popular. Not a few parents who have applied this method because it is considered better and effective in educating children. How to do positive parenting and what are the benefits? Here are the positive parenting strategies that can help transform your family life.
How to do positive parenting?
Basic principles positive parenting is to value children and make them grow into independent and responsible individuals.
The following are some steps you can take while applying positive parenting.
1. Stay Calm
Parenting can be frustrating, especially when your child is misbehaving or having a meltdown. Nevertheless, it is crucial to stay calm in such situations.
Avoid snapping, yelling or shouting at your child, as it will only make things worse. Instead, take a deep breath, count to ten and try to understand what is provoking your child’s behavior.
Responding calmly to your child’s behavior is a powerful way of modeling appropriate behavior.
2. Practice Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and share your child’s feelings. As a parent, you should put yourself in your child’s shoes and acknowledge their emotions. Try to show genuine concern, ask questions, and validate their feelings. Empathy helps build healthy relationships with your child and helps them trust you.
3. Be Consistent
Consistency is essential in parenting. It means that you should follow through with your rules, consequences, and rewards. Being consistent builds a sense of predictability, stability, and security in your child’s life. It also prevents confusion and mixed-messages, which can be detrimental to your child’s development.
4. Use Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is any action that increases the probability of a behavior reoccurring. It involves acknowledging and rewarding desirable behavior, rather than punishing undesirable behavior.
Positive reinforcement can range from giving praise, toys, or treats, depending on your child’s age and preferences. Positive reinforcement helps build self-confidence, self-esteem, and encourages good behavior.
5. Let Your Child Make Choices
Allowing your child to make choices is an excellent way of encouraging independence, responsibility, and decision-making skills.
For instance, let your child choose their clothes, what they want to eat, or which extracurricular activities they would like to participate in. Remember to set some boundaries and consequences in case they make poor choices. Giving your child some control helps them feel empowered and confident.
6. Set Realistic Expectations
As a parent, it is crucial to set realistic expectations for your child. This means understanding your child’s abilities, stage of development, and personality. Do not set expectations that are too high, as it may lead to frustration and disappointment. Instead, expect reasonable and achievable goals for your child, and acknowledge their achievements, no matter how small.
7. Communicate Effectively
Communication is the key to good relationships, and the same applies to parenting. As a parent, you should communicate effectively with your child, by listening, speaking, and providing feedback.
Be clear, honest, and respectful in your communication. Encourage your child to express their feelings and opinions, and avoid dismissing or belittling them. Effective communication helps build trust, mutual respect, and enhances your child’s social skills.
8. Spend Quality Time with Your Child
Spending quality time with your child helps strengthen your bond, create positive memories, and build healthy relationships. These moments can be playing games, taking walks, reading stories, or simply chatting.
Regardless of the activity, ensure that you give your child your undivided attention, and avoid distractions such as phones or laptops. Spending quality time with your child is one of the most valuable gifts you can give them.
9. Practice Positive Discipline
Positive discipline involves teaching your child what they should do, rather than what they should not do. It includes using consequences that are logical, consistent, and respectful.
Positive discipline teaches your child responsibility, self-control, and helps them learn from their mistakes. Some of the positive discipline techniques include redirection, natural consequences, and time-out.
10. Take Care of Yourself
Parenting can be stressful, and it’s essential to take care of yourself both physically and mentally. Ensure that you get enough sleep, exercise, and eat healthily. Take breaks when you need them, and seek social support from friends, family, or parenting groups. Taking care of yourself makes you a better parent, and it sets an excellent example for your child.
11. Set boundaries
Having boundaries in parent and child relationships is the key to success in positive parenting.
Instead of punishing him (as a negative attitude), you can take a moment to step aside to just calm down and controlling emotions in children.
12. Create a comfortable environment
Creating a nurturing environment starts with meeting a child’s basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.
If all that has been fulfilled, then positive parenting will probably work effectively.
13. Understand the child’s feelings
Basically, children really need to feel valued and cared for, no matter what they do, right or wrong.
In this case, you need to give your child your full time and attention in every aspect of his life.
In addition, you can help children positively overcome any social conflicts they experience.
14. Be assertive
Be a positive parent doesn’t mean letting the child just like that. You can straighten them out firmly and lovingly when they need a reminder of the rules.
15. Avoid punishing children
Punish children will actually make your relationship with him become disharmonious or tenuous. Moreover, if the punishment imposed does not match the violations committed.
Instead of punishing them, try letting your child experience the actions they have done for themselves.
By applying the consequences of his actions, the child understands and disciplines the rules.
Various benefits of positive parenting
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Adolescent Psychology shows that positive parenting can lower depression in children, when compared to the authoritarian parenting style.
In addition, there are a number of other benefits of this positive parenting that you need to know about, including the following.
1. Strengthen the relationship between parents and children
Practicing positive parenting can help form a stronger parent-child relationship.
This parenting style can also indirectly increase trust between children and parents. How not, children feel they have positive interactions with their parents.
These positive interactions prevent them from experiencing mental health problems in childhood or later in life.
2. Communication is more effective
Communication is an important part of positive parenting.
In a sense, the main focus of this upbringing is finding a way to communicate with children in a positive and action-oriented manner, not in a negative or abusive way.
You can apply this positive attitude by encouraging children to talk about their feelings.
You can also start developing communication skills from an early age by doing activities with your little one.
Make eye and physical contact when communicating with children, so they feel more valued.
3. Increase self-esteem
Positive parenting can help increase a child’s sense of self-esteem.
The reason is, positive behavior will lead them to see mistakes and imperfections as opportunities to improve themselves, instead of lowering self-esteem.
4. Reducing negative behavior
It’s important to know that in positive parenting, You should still set boundaries for children.
The difference is instead of focusing on negative child behavior, you can offer positive alternatives to the actions your child is taking.
That is, positive behavior will have more space than negative behavior.
FAQs
Q: Which is the best positive reinforcement to use?
A: The best positive reinforcement depends on your child’s age, interests, and developmental stage. Examples of positive reinforcement include praise, stickers, toys or treats, and quality time.
Q: How can I stay calm and patient when my child is misbehaving?
A: Taking a deep breath, counting to ten, and trying to understand your child’s behavior can help you stay calm. Also, create a self-care routine that includes activities that calm you, such as meditation or yoga.
Q: What should I do if my child doesn’t listen to me?
A: If your child doesn’t listen to you, avoid yelling, shouting, or physical punishment. Instead, use positive reinforcement to encourage good behavior, set realistic expectations, and communicate effectively.
Conclusion
Positive parenting approaches can help transform your family life by building healthy relationships, communication, and mutual respect.
Consistency, empathy, positive reinforcement, and quality time are some of the positive parenting strategies that you can use. Remember that parenting is a journey, and you are not alone.
Seek support from parenting groups, family, and friends, and don’t forget to take care of yourself.
