How to parent kids.

Kids need rules to feel safe. Rules about everything. How can you otherwise know what your limits are? How can you know that the kitchen tap to the right won’t burn you, and what do you do if it does?

Explanations.

I think this is the perfect time to ground a little person in reality. When you get older, life becomes too complicated for rules alone to have any real substance.. you have to rely on intuition. To understand mathematics as a high level, one has to have a firm grounding in the basics. Perhaps it’s the same with intuition - you doesn’t question 1+1 while doing calculus, do you?

From what I understand, parenting is difficult. However, I don’t think that should be an excuse for this to be overlooked. Your child is a lead ball. Every interaction you have with your child pushes them in one direction or the other. Where there are rules, there breeds defiance. Don’t roll your child against yourself. Set their momentum in the right direction.

Some rules I’ll probably have in my home some day:

• Explain everything to them. Down to the detail. If they know the consequences, they’ll understand the weight behind the rule.
• Don’t attack their character when disciplining. It’s their actions that were wrong, not their personality, character or who they are.
• Don’t go back on your word or bend the rules unless you want to create mistrust and opportunity for manipulation.
• Last but not least, don’t forget to hug them.

Your impact on them also lessens over time, which is why it’s so important to do things right now. You have a beautiful opportunity - take hold of it.