5 Parental Responsibilites for Healthy Kids
5 Parental Responsibilites for Healthy Kids
Every parent is aware of what a major task it is to keep a healthy and peaceful atmosphere in place at home, especially in homes with large families present. Regardless of the difficulty, it is tremendously rewarding when parents see the fruit of their labor.
There is no such thing as an ideal home, and frictions will arise from time to time even with the most placid and amenable children. This means that excessively high expectations will only set parents up for a fall.
Through talking to child experts, family, and friends with significant parenting experience, less experienced parents can get a better sense of what to expect in terms of home living with the family.
I compiled a list of five essential responsibilities inherent in good parenting. This ensures that kids will be healthy adults later in life, the result of a balanced home environment from an early age.
1) A Frame. The first responsibility on the list can be reduced to one word: discipline. Without discipline a home cannot function and can be turned practically into a living hell, for parents and children alike. You can watch homes like this on TV shows like The Nanny, The Super Nanny, etc. It is crucial that a parent develop some mechanism with which to maintain discipline among their children. Parents need to be able to secure compliance somehow, or at least have something which the child will consider bad enough punishment, bad enough to avoid behaving in certain ways. Btw, This DOES NOT mean corporal punishment. In general, this means developing a frame for what is and is not acceptable.
2) Mental Development. Parents need to stimulate their children’s mental development at home, and not just leave this to school. Parents can promote their children’s intellectual abilities by reading together or playing mind/trivia games. Likewise, encouraging children to play music is a great way to open their minds up and has been shown to increase their performance in many academic areas, especially mathematics.
3) Physical Development. Just as parents need to promote a healthy mind, they need to do the same for their children’s bodies. Parents have the obligation of getting their kids off the couch every once in a while to do some physical activity. From playing catch to going for a bike ride or just a nice long walk, an active body will benefit the child and reinforce parent-child bonds.
4) Home Environment. It’s important that children feel comfortable in their own home, and that they enjoy having friends over. Otherwise, children may develop a tendency to escape from home that will prove to be unhealthy for family ties in the long run. Organize parties, events, or just a sleepover with a best friend on a periodic basis to keep this dynamic in good conditions.
5) Chores. Finally, parents should promote their children’s sense of responsibility by assigning them certain chores throughout the home that need to be performed weekly, and that may have an allowance attached to them. This keeps kids engaged with their surroundings and will make for tidier, healthier people in the long run.