Some Parenting Rules that Actually Work

Are you a parent spending more time pulling out your hair rather than combing it? Are your children under your feet incessantly whining about every little thing? Try reading this simple column and find some answers to parenting that will lighten your load.

My wife have always advocated that parents need a few, not many, but a few simple rules that are applied consistently and parenting becomes a much easier task. When the rules are clear, and they are applied consistently and fearlessly, the lines of authority are not blurred. Parents can be parents, and children can be children.

Children exhibit two kinds of behavior. Normal behavior, and acceptable behavior. You must expect a child to act their age, but it is your responsibility as a parent to teach them to act in a responsible, acceptable manner. At age two, tantrums are normal. At age 8 they are annoying. At age 12 they become a manipulative tool used against parents because apparently they work. Establishing a few basic rules will wean a child away from childish behavior and cause them to act at a socially acceptable level. The key is consistency.

Many parents fail on this front. It seems easier to just give in to a child's demands so that they are not creating a scene. But it only prolongs the inevitable confrontation. Putting in the hard work of consistency in the beginning will pay big rewards in the long run. Children will always test the boundaries until they know where the boundaries are. After finding out where the boundaries they will occasionally test them again to see if they have been moved. That is normal. Be ready with your consistent, but firm application of a few simple rules and you will end up with well adjusted children. For the most part:)

"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)