Appreciate your child’s positive behaviour:

The more any behaviour gets attention the more it gets reinforced and will be more likely to repeat. Appreciate the positive behaviour with clapping and smile. Avoid the negative behaviour or just firmly say that “it was wrong and inappropriate.”

Share your household responsibilities with your child:

Household responsibilities teach children important life lessons related to duty, cooperation, community and hard work. People who learn such lessons early in life are more likely to become well-adjusted adults. Successful parents make household chores a part of the family’s routine and culture. This sets children up for future success. “remember to put all the shoes in shoe racks daily.”

Build a strong relationship:

Children from low-conflict families are happier and more successful in the long run, as compared to children from high-conflict families. One of the most important things you can do to benefit your children is to build a strong relationship with your spouse.

• Focus on solving problems instead of assigning blame
• Make time to talk every day
• Ask “What can I giveto the relationship?” more often than you ask “What can I get from the relationship?”
• Don’t pick on your spouse’s flaws, specially in front of the child
• Compliment your spouse in front of your child
• Don’t compare your marriage with other people’s marriages
• Be kind and polite to your spouse (because that is what your child is learning from you)

Let you child initiate things:

• Let your children make age-appropriate choices
• As far as possible, refrain from saying “You’re too young to…”
• Allow your children to build their own world instead of them being the centre of your universe
• Let your children fail, let them know that it is ok to fail and it is important to learn from it.

Give your child a sense of security:

• Show affection toward them
• Appreciate them immediately whenever they do something appraisable (even if it is too small for you)
• Treat them with respect
• Acknowledge their feelings (acknowledge if they are angry with statements like “ I can see that you are angry and it must be really hard, let’s talk more about it”
• Give them your full attention when you’re with them (keep your phones and work stress away from your kids)
• Keep your promises (It will make you dependable and trustworthy for them)

Focus more on contribution and less on achievement

Always highlight their progress even if it is minute. Talk about the challenges you face and what you’re doing to overcome them. Let them make mistake also let them face the natural consequences if they are not too harsh for them.

Your mental health is as important as your child’s:

Don’t always wait for that one emotional outburst that blames and affects everybody around you. Keep a check on your stress level.

Always remember that each day with your child is a milestone for both your child and you as a parent, celebrate it. Don’t miss even a single opportunity to smile. Take small breaks to spend a little time on things which make you happy. Happy parent makes a strong, healthy and happy family.