From the post: 15 Great Pieces Of Advice To Help You On Your Parenting Journey
And tell them often that you love them but more importantly show them by spending time with them. Let them be children and dont expect them to be small adults and for gods sake let them be who they want to be not what you wish you had been. Allow them to make their own mistakes because it’s the only way to truly learn.
Don’t force your religious beliefs down their throats because, whether you want to admit or not, it is just a belief and not a known and most likely the beliefs you have were chosen by your parents for you or the society you grew up in. I’m not a believer in any religion but my children, who are both grown now, don’t know that because maybe I’m wrong and I never felt comfortable making that choice for them when I can’t be sure of my own thinking on the matter. It’s entirely possible to teach good values and behavior without religion.
If you make them a promise try your hardest to keep it, they need to believe what you say and breaking promises on a whim teaches them your not trustworthy and trust is a major component in any healthy relationship. The smallest promises and commitments are just as important to keep and shouldn’t be discarded lightly. They’re watching you closer than you realize.
I think you should always show respect to the other parent whether you are divorced or still happily married and should never speak ill of them in front of the kids. It puts them in a bad position that they can’t fully understand, at least when they’re still young anyway but you should still show that respect even when they’re adults.
These things were somewhat easy for me to practice with my kids because my parents were always good to me. Many people’s parents weren’t and they pass the same negative bullshit on to their own children and the cycle keeps repeating. Take an honest look at yourself and make sure your not in that cycle, you owe that to your kids. They didn’t choose to be brought into the world, you made that decision and whether it was an actual decision to have them or an accident you have to suck it up and do your absolute best to do right by them even when it’s hard, even if you’re drug addicted or unemployed or homeless or just goin through some crap at the moment.
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was to always do the right thing even when it’s not the right thing for YOU, it’s a sacrifice that you must make for your children. I always feel like an asshole giving advice because I’m every bit as much of a fuck up as everyone else and I haven’t always followed this advice but as I get older I never stop trying to be a better person, I try every day, I try to give more than I take. I take from Caveman Circus daily so this advice is a way of giving back although it doesn’t really benefit Mr. Caveman in any way that I can see. Maybe some of the negative commenters will read this and It’ll soften their heart a little but I don’t hold much hope for that, some folks are only happy when they’re bringing others down.
These thing have worked for me and I’m proud of the way my kids turned out, I’m not solely responsible for that though. Everyone that’s came into their lives is partly responsible and I think it’s important to make sure those people have your kids best interest in mind and if they don’t then cut em out fast. Keep those pricks away from your kids whether they’re your friends or family or teachers or anyone else, influence comes from all directions.
TL;DR- love your kids and treat them right.
– Scott Hudson
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.