Okay, let's get things straight right off the bat. I am a parent. This experience qualifies me to say that parenting is unequivocally the most difficult job in the world. No matter what you do, you are going to find some way to screw up. It is HARD and kids, even our own children who we love unconditionally, can be REALLY ANNOYING!
Another important thing, whatever quality your kid has that most gets under your skin or on your nerves, he or she most likely got it from you. It is inescapable. Nature, nurture, tomato (long a), tomato (short a), whatever made them that way, your genes or your actions, it is ALL YOUR FAULT!
As a teacher and school administrator, I have often heard various presenters tell us that, "the parents send the very best children they have to school, they don't keep the good ones at home". The point is to remind us to always see the potential in these children. Here is the real truth, the kids are stuck with the parents they have and that is probably why they act the way that they do!
Almost every time I have a meeting with a student's parent or parents, I am struck with this thought: "Oh that explains it..." Seriously, you have heard the expression "you are what you eat"? Well, the truth is, "you are what your parents made you."
Why am I telling you this? So you can live knowing your son or daughter is destined to be a bully or a nerd, a slacker or a jerk just like you? No, I am telling you this so that you realize the best way to parent your children is to demonstrate the kind of person you want them to be. If you want kindness, be kind. You want your child to have empathy? Show empathy. If you want them to have work ethic, to value family, to be focused, you must show them the way! I already told you that parenting is the hardest job ever but, if there was ever anything worth being a better person for, it is most certainly your children! If you follow this advice and it still doesn't work, there is only one thing left to do...blame your spouse!
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