Good Parenting – Providing Benefits For A Lifetime

By Michelle Bery

Good parenting can not be clearly defined, as it is very often a subjective concept. One parent’s definition of good parenting may be another’s definition of poor judgment. Cultural differences impact parenting standards enormously as do a myriad of other things. Luckily there are a few fundamental standards that are held by society as a common measure of good parenting.

As parents, the most basic of our responsibilities are to keep our children safe and healthy to the best of our abilities. A parent who struggles to feed their child because of economic reasons, or a parent who lives in a less than safe neighborhood can hardly be considered a bad parent. The key here is the “best of their abilities” – good (or bad) parenting can often be defined by intent. The care a parent provides for their child – that is consciously intended to be beneficial can help us define good parenting.

For our purposes, a child who is clean, well fed, and healthy as a result of the care provided to them by their parent’s best efforts is said to be the product of good parenting.

Additionally, a child’s emotional well being is just as important as their physical well being. Good parenting means making yourself emotionally available to your children – encouraging them and supporting their journey through life. A child who is emotionally healthy – happy, secure, and self-confident – can often attribute their emotional health to good parenting.

Conversely – a child who acts out behaviorally, inflicts harm on himself or others, and is emotionally shut down is often missing good parenting. Keep in mind, however, that many of these warning signs can be the result of depression and other medical conditions. But when none of these conditions are present, the parenting of the child should be addressed.

Schools will often become involved in assessing the existence of good parenting when danger signs become evident within school. A child who is noticeably neglected physically – comes to school unkempt, unclean, and otherwise unhealthy on a consistent basis will raise red flags. Additionally, a child who appears emotionally unstable, suffers from poor grades, depression, and/or social problems will also be noticed.

Children who are the product of good parenting will often be noticed as the children who excel in school, have many friends, and are happy, functioning members of the school community.

Good parenting can set the tone for a child’s whole life to come. Providing a physically and emotionally safe environment in which a child can flourish will provide that child a lifetime of confidence and emotional health so that they can pass good parenting along to their children.

For easy to understand, in depth information about parenting visit our ezGuide 2 Parenting.

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