Positive parenting

Make Your Children Feel Great!

Positive parenting is about bringing out the best in your child. You can do this by:

• listening and understanding
• praising and encouraging their efforts
• noticing and rewarding good behaviour
• doing things together that you both enjoy.

It is often easy to point out where a child is going wrong and forget to notice the things that go right.  By doing this you are giving your child attention for the bad things which they are doing, rather than for the good things you would prefer them to do.  It can also undermine your relationship with your child.  Your attention and praise affects children - so you need to use it in the right way!

If you do this it will have a positive affect on your child's behaviour.  It will also make your child feel happy, loved, wanted and secure.  This is the basis of lifelong confidence and self-esteem.

Teenagers have to learn to make their own decisions and become independent from their parents.  Their decisions might not always fit in with your decisions.  Tension is normal.  Choose your battles and let some go!  Be friendly and encouraging and let them know you have been through it yourself and you are always willing to listen.  The main concern for teens is whether what they are going through is normal.  Remember to give them the practical information they need about their physical and emotional changes and reassure them that their development is normal.

Keeping your child fit and healthy is something that most parents do without even thinking about it.  Whether it involves getting your child to brush their teeth or reminding them to pay attention to personal hygiene, you are an important source of information and advice and a role model for your child.

A sense of self-esteem is your child's best protection from other difficulties.  You can help to make them feel good about themselves in many ways:

• by being a good role model
• understanding and helping your child
• being natural and warm.

Make them feel great!