Parenthood

Everyone knows what parenting is and most would say that it is exceedingly important but why is it so important? What is the purpose of parenting? How should parents parent? The family a proclamation to the world helps answer some of these questions. It says “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.” Parenthood is divinely appointed by God and one of the ways that we can learn and be more like him. Parents are responsible to help their children prepare to live in the world on their own and to help them be responsible citizens and disciples of Jesus Christ. This can be accomplished through what is known as an active parenting style.

Now you may wonder what active parenting is. https://www.superpages.com defines active parenting in this way “Active parenting involves using skills derived from certain fundamental principles. Active parents believe that behavior should be goal-directed. This means that a person practicing active parenting is not simply trying to make their kids behave for the sake of behaving, as some authoritarian parents do. Instead, active parenting involves setting goals for your children to achieve and creating standards of behavior within those goals. Those goals can be as simple as a goal to be polite, or as complex as a goal to get into a good college. Behaviors that lead toward the goal are encouraged and rewarded while behaviors that detract from the goal are discouraged. Active parenting is also based on the principle that social interactions between parents and children are the defining elements of the parent/child relationship. Thus, active parents are encouraged to think about how they behave towards their children, and what effect that behavior will have. Active parents should treat their children with respect and ultimately focus on strengthening the relationship with every interaction. The principle of mutual respect that is involved in active parenting also dictates the structure of parent/child interactions and supports the belief that interactions should be positively focused.” 

This could seem like a lot to do but focusing on two parts can make it easier. Those parts are focusing on the relationship and helping the children have goals and be goal-oriented. I feel like my parents did a great job with this. One thing that they did to help me was to let me make my own decisions, even when I was fairly young. This helped me in multiple ways. One way was it made me feel valued as a person. They did not see me like some child that they needed to take care of but rather as a person that could make their own decisions. This not only helped me learn important decision-making skills but also helped me have a better and more trusting relationship with my parents. Another thing my parents did was they constantly encouraged me to set goals for myself. My mother always told me that she wanted me to be goal-oriented. This was important for me because it helped me better understand the reasoning behind many of their actions. It also helped me claim responsibility when I came up short because I too was involved in the goal-setting. Focusing on these two things can greatly help in parenthood.