How is your parent child relationship going? Is parent child bonding happening in your home?
We all want to be great parents but there will be some flaws that we have that drive our children crazy. You can try your best to be the cool parent, but there will be times when you embarrass your children and they think of you as the uncool parent and you juts feel totally burnt out. Instead of trying to be cool, focus on building stronger relationships with your children instead. Here are some tips to help:
Parent-child relationship psychology
Don’t get bogged down in theory but do take your time to read around this subject. A good attachment as a child makes for healthy relationships as adults. Your child needs consistency in your parent child relationship in order to feel loved and secure. This is a great article to find out more about parent-child psychology.
Ways to Build a Strong Parent Child Relationship
Play with your kids
One of the best ways to build stronger relationships with your kids is to spend quality time with them. Go outside and jump on the trampoline together. Play tennis, soccer, basketball. Get out there and learn about your kids and what they like to do and do it with them. It’s a simple way to get to know your kids better and build stronger relationships with them.
Talk to your kids tobuild a strong parent child relationship
If you want to build relationships with your kids you need to talk to them. Find out what their problems are and what interests them. Learn about who they are. Talking to them can help you find things that you share in common with them like sports or dance. Talking to your kids will build stronger relationships with them and it will make you a better parent because you will be able to detect when your children are having problems.
Establishing an Open Line of Communication: One of the most important elements of a strong parent-child relationship is open communication. Encourage your child to talk openly with you about their thoughts and feelings, rather than shutting down or getting angry when they don’t agree with your decisions or ideas.
Parent child bonding – Spend time with your kids
While you may need some time to unwind from a hard day, your kids have waited all day to see you. You need to spend time with them as this will strengthen your relationship and make you a better parent.
Spend Quality Time Together: Spending quality time together is essential for building a strong bond between parents and children. Make sure that you are making the effort to do activities and have conversations with each other often so that your child feels loved and supported by you.
Ways to Build a Strong Parent Child Relationship
Affection in your parent child relationship
It is important to show your children affection and love. Hug them, give them a kiss, pat them on the back, let them know how much you love them and how much they mean to you. When a child is loved, they are happier and their self-esteem is often higher from other children their age.
Eat dinner together
This is a simple way to build stronger relationships with your children. Get rid of the distractions and just focus on your family. Dinnertime is a great time to talk to your kids and find out what they are interested in and what they are up to.
Pray together / be grateful
If you are a religious family, make sure to practice your religion in your home. Children need to see the importance of religion in your life if they are going to make it part of their life. Get down on your knees each night with your kids and pray. If you aren’t religious try expressing gratitude together it will make you think of the good times and give your child an important attitude of gratitude and positivity to combat the inherent negativity bias we are all born with. Take a look at these great gratitude quotes and journal ideas to share with your kids.
Don’t judge
Your children get enough criticism at school, the last thing they need is to come home and get it from you. Be neutral for your children. Let them know that they can come to you with problems and concerns and you will help them look at both sides of the picture before making a decision.
Show Respect for Your Child: It’s important for parents to show respect for their child in order to foster a strong relationship between them. Listen to what they have to say without judgment, be supportive of their interests, celebrate their successes, and provide guidance when needed rather than criticism or punishment.
Be aware
Watch your children and the friends that they have. The children your kids hang out with will have a big influence on them. You need to watch your kids to make sure they are being influenced for good and that these kids are helping their self-esteem and confidence. You aren’t going to be able to dictate what your teens do but you can encourage and help them reflect of friendships that make them feel happy and healthy rather than pressured and insecure.
Set Boundaries & Rules: While it’s important not to be too strict as this can lead to resentment from the child, setting clear boundaries and rules helps create structure in the household which can help both parent and child feel secure in knowing what is acceptable behavior in the family dynamics.
Build their self-esteem
A good parent can help their kids see themselves as being a valuable person. Self-esteem is important and without it, kids will have problems in social situations like school. They will struggle making friends and it can impact their ability to love themselves. Build their self-esteem by thanking them for being who they are and for the things they do on a daily basis.
Be real with them in your parent child relationship
If you mess up apologise, if you are sad, be sad but let them in ( at least a little on way) if you are tired and just need some quiet time speak up. being real with real emotions lets them know that it is okay and that you aren’t ‘perfect’ and they don’t need to be either. We all have down times no matter how old we are are and we all experience a range of emotions. it is very healthy for you to show this to your kids and for them to see the real you
Keep Promises & Follow Through : Keeping promises shows children that you take them seriously, while following through helps them understand that there are consequences for inappropriate behavior but also reinforces the fact that parents still love them even if they make mistakes sometimes
Why are parent-child relationships important?
- Because you spend the most time with them,
- Because you are the person they trust
- Because you are their first relationship
- Because you are their teacher
- Because you are their role model
Their relationship with you is KEY to their success in life.
Why are parent-child relationships challenging?
Oh so many reasons but I think the below 6 really resonate with every parent
- Because we get so tired thinking about and caring for someone else so much
- Because children constantly change and we have to adapt our parenting with them
- Because we are raising them in a world we were not raised in
- Because life stressor of money relationship and social media impact adults too and they aren’t always feel strong and confident as parents
- Because it is the nature of children to challenge and grow more independent as they age and this can be hard for protective parents
- Because they feel they have to be perfect partly do to the pressures of social media that hold up parenting images of perfection
More ways to build the parent child relationship
A strong Parent child relationship takes effort
In conclusion, strong parent-child relationships are essential for healthy growth and development in children. Parents play an integral role in helping their child to develop the skills they need to succeed in life, and it is important that parents take the time to nurture their relationship with their child. Parenting can be a difficult job, but it is worth the effort when you see how it positively affects your child’s well-being.
You might also like my post on telling a child they are adopted
and how to help a child if a parent dies
