Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Useful Tips For Working Parents

By Chloe Gib


These days it is rare to find the traditional stay at home mom who makes pancakes for breakfast, bakes brownies and scrumptious apple pie and fetches the kids from school on time. We live in the age of working parents, of moms and dads both needing to work to put the bread on the table. It is a world where many people actually decide not to be parents at all. For those who do still want to try and achieve the dream of a happy nuclear family, here are some tips to balance work and parenting.

Make home a safe place. Do everything you possibly can to make home a warm, welcoming safe haven for your child so that wherever he may go in the world, he will always want to come back home. Try to make it an environment of fun, learning, and abundant love, happiness and laughter.

If we lay firm foundations in the home, our children will grow up with this and carry the values we teach them throughout their lives. So when the time eventually comes to let them out of the bubble, whether that means going to high school or college, we can at least hope that they will hold dear to these life lessons.

Spend quality time. Being away from your child while you work does not necessarily mean that you are depriving them of love or attention. Spend as much quality time with your child as you can. Make the mornings fun, while you brush your teeth together, eat breakfast together and get ready for your day ahead. Try not to spend the morning shouting. Pick your battles and discipline only when it is necessary. On the way to school or crche, sing songs in the car, tell your child how much you love him or her and affirm them that you will pick them up later and have fun together. Always let your child know that they are loved and special to you, every chance you get.

Make it your business to know everything. When you fetch your child speak to the teachers or caregivers, find out how the day was. Did your child get enough sleep? How was his behavior? If your child is disruptive in class or shows signs of poor discipline, it may be his way of expressing feelings of neglect. As working parents, we have to be extra observant of these things and address them quickly. A working parent has to make the extra effort to ensure his or her child that they are loved unconditionally and that mum and dad are always there no matter what.

Reward with affection, not things. Many parents make the mistake of buying toys to compensate for time not spent with their children. This will set a bad precedent. Any child will delight at a new toy, but chasing dad around the garden means much more. Reward your child with affection rather than things if they do something good.

Professional parents can be extremely good parents, it just requires a bit of a balancing act. You can obtain more details in a parenting e-book or at parent education programs.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment