Parenting is not for the faint of heart. That child you’re holding is cute and cuddly right now, but they can become a savage beasty as they grow. Didn’t you know that one of your duties as a parent is wild animal tamer? Study and learn from four of the laws of the parenting jungle so you don’t become dinner.
It’s a Jungle Out There
Children are little people without programming. Each day they are in the world, they are learning and adapting to all they come in contact with through their five senses. At first, this is only mom and dad and a handful of relatives who are regularly around them. Pretty soon, it will be strangers their own age as well as teachers, bus drivers and other caregivers. Each new person exerts an influence over them.
How about the kid who comes home without their socks because another kid asked for them? Or, the girl who’s hair is cut because her friends were doing it? You never know who might walk through that door in the afternoon from the bus stop to greet you. This is what makes these four laws of the parenting jungle so important.
Four Laws of the Parenting Jungle
1. “Teach them”
This is the first law. Kids need to learn everything. They pop out equipped with the ability to cry, which is supposed to do for all needs until we as parents can decipher them. At every stage, show your kids how to deal with the world around them. Part of that is preparing them with the skills necessary to live in it. Yes, that includes potty training.
From buttoning their coat to tying their shoes to using proper manners, it is up to the parent and parental figures to equip kids for their lives.
2. “Love them”
Love is truly a many-splendored thing. Love means bearing with them when they miss the potty and use their diaper or wet the bed. It means kissing dirty faces or knees when they fall down and get hurt. It’s making them do their homework when they want to watch television. Love them through disappointment, pain, break-ups and the like. You are the constant in their universe.
3. “Discipline them”
This is where the rubber meets the road. Loving your kids means setting boundaries for their safety and teaching responsibility in their lives. Demonstrating right from wrong by delivering consequences is one of those disciplinary actions. Saying no to something you don’t approve of is another. It is hard, but worth it in the long run.
4. “Dominate them”
We are not talking about cheetah chasing and eating antelope here. More so, we are talking about distinguishing the role of parent and child. You are not their friend but their caregiver. You are there to guide, teach, discipline, love and prepare them for live as responsible members of society. Until they reach the legal age of adulthood, your word is the last on every subject.
Observing the above four rules won’t make parenting a breeze but it can help you avoid many of the pitfalls that others before you have encountered.
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