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8 Ways to Build a Strong Foundation For Your Kids
Providing a good foundation is easier said than done. After an exhausting day at work, it’s easier to stare at the TV than review your child’s homework; when your kid does something wrong, it’s easier to let it slide than to be the “bad guy” and discipline him or her; when your kid is surrounded by bad influences, it’s easier to look the other way, than to confront the issue head-on; and when your child meets defeat, it’s easier to “blame the world” rather than help your child accept responsibility and learn from the setback.
How to Build a Strong Foundation
Providing your kids with a good foundation is absolutely critical. Here are eight ways to build a strong foundation for your kids.
Nurturing. Parenting is not a part-time job. Children require continual encouragement and support. Parents are the cheerleaders who provide hope and optimism for the future.
Personal sacrifice. Parents are selfless people willing to forgo a great deal to benefit their children. They dream of offering their children a better life than they had.
Discipline. Parents know that disciplining a child is not easy. Although it’s rarely appreciated, it’s often in the child’s best interest.
Personal responsibility. Parents know that it takes a village to raise a child, but they do not outsource responsibility for building a good foundation for their kids. They also teach their children to accept responsibility for their actions and choices.
Empathy. Parents teach kids that success is the result of hard work. And although occasional disappointment is inevitable, they shouldn’t let it derail the journey. Parents are always there to provide a ray of sunshine when the sky fills with clouds.
Inner voice. When kids grow up, they hear their parent’s voice in their subconscious. Make sure the words they hear offer positive messages.
Setting an example. Parents know their behavior will be emulated. Therefore, they can instill good personal values and a strong work ethic by serving as exemplary role models. Furthermore, they know that friends and family, teachers and pastors, celebrities and athletes, and even video games, movies, and music influence behavior. Are they good or bad influences?
Family. The family provides a child with roots, much-needed structure, and unconditional love. Families also provide their children with a happy home –– a place where a child is always safe and welcome.
What Are Your Ideas About Building a Strong Foundation?
Additional Reading:
Kids Don’t Come With an Instruction Manual
My Kid the Superstar
Tough Love: A Lifelong Gift
We Owe It to Our Kids
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All good strategies and practices. I would boldly add this one. Let your kids know they are not the center of the universe and that your world does not revolve around them either. They need to know that besides your loving them unconditionally you have a life of your own that needs its own nurturing (some of which comes from them) and time away from them on occasion. We had a practice with our kids of going off on our own, leaving them behind for a weekend, sometimes longer, from early on. They knew why we were doing it, where we were going and they were secure in that, enjoyed also being with a grandparent or a good family friend.
Great point Gary.
Some parents keep their baby’s room artificially quiet so that noise doesn’t disturb them. This creates an artificial environment that’s not sustainable. By the same token, all relationships require an investment of time and energy in order to thrive. Nurturing your marriage by example, teaches that we can all love more than one person.
Thanks for taking the time to write!
Best,
Frank
Gary,
I really enjoyed your statement. Definitely, they need to know that they are not the center of the universe. We are living in a shake and bake society where some children are expecting to receive everything digested from their parents. They are not interested in working for anything or gaining something for their own. They expect everything to be handed to them and receive it because they are entitled. Instead of obeying parents, they demand from parents what they want or what they need. Parents trying to avoid conflicts give them whatever they want, without measuring the consequences. As Frank stated: “it’s rarely appreciated, it’s often in the child’s best interest.” Parents need to be consistent at all the time.
Hi Rosalie
When parents baby their kids by fighting their battles and shielding them from harm, they create a false sense of security, making their kids incapable of standing on their own two feet. The danger is, when pampered kids enter the real world they get hit with a ton of bricks. People who receive a free lunch end up paying the price.
Best,
Frank
Please I need to know more about how to take good care of our children and how set a strong goal for them.
Hi Asumadu
I wrote another article that may help answer your question. “How to Raise Happy and Productive Children.” Here’s the link for your convenience:
https://www.franksonnenbergonline.com/posters/parenting-how-to-raise-happy-and-productive-children/
Thanks for taking the time to write.
Best,
Frank