So I have been a parent for 10 years now. In that 10 years I have become a parent 4 times. Yes that’s right I am 31 years old with 4 children, ages 10,8,7 and 5. The three youngest ones are all boys. The oldest is my only girl. So you can probably imagine that my home is NEVER boring or quiet. In the past 10 years we have had ups and downs, scares and close calls, but most of all we have had an adventure. Looking back at parenting thus far I have come up with, what I believe are, 5 Important Tips on parenting.
1. “Do as I say not as I do” DOES NOT WORK!! 
Let’s say your kid secretly snags an extra cookie before bed. There is just something confusing to a child when you say, “You cannot have another cookie right now!” as you take it from them and proceed to eat it before their mother finds out what is going on.
2. Make sure, “Just a minute” really means just a minute.
Child: “Dad come look at this tower I just built in my room!” DAD: “Just a minute” sitting at the computer reading a pointless article. 45 Minutes pass and the child returns and says, “Dad aren’t you gonna come look at my tower?” DAD: “Yeah, I said just a minute didn’t I?” Child:”Yeah, but how long is a minute?” Not only does this prove to your child that you are terrible with math but that whatever it is that you were doing was more important than they are to you at the moment.
3. Understand that “BandAids” have healing magic. 
It may seem crazy to you as an adult to think that BandAids have healing magic. Well guess what? There is nothing you can say to change the mind of a kid that seriously believes that they do! We need to remember that there isn’t any rush for our kids to become adults. In fact, I can’t even tell you the number of times I have been reminded what a difference a child like way of looking at or believing in something can make. Their is a reason that God mentions this Super Power like characteristic of children. Child Like Faith. It can change the world. Don’t crush it with your sarcastic, “real world” understanding of how things “really” work. PLEASE.
4. Pray together.
Not much to say here other than it is absolutely true that, “The family that prays together stays together” It teaches our children that there is a God. That He is there for them. That if they ever want to talk to Him, and trust me they will at some point in their life, they will know how to communicate with Him. If you truly love your children please do not forget this one.
5. Never Give Up!
When push comes to shove you are going to run into situations that are hard to deal with or that you will have no clue how to deal with. It is in these times that we as parents and as humans really, learn. If you use these situations to TEACH as you LEARN, you will make an ever lasting impression on the type of character that your children will have when they are faced with similar situations in their life. It really comes back to the old saying, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime” I am sad to say this but I really do think that in our society today we look for the easy out. It has corrupted our youth. ”If it gets difficult give up.” Let’s change that. Remember these 5 facts and I truly believe it can make you a better parent than you thought you could be.
Please feel free to comment and let me know if any of these facts help you or if you have some tried and true parenting facts of your own to add to the list. As always, thank you for reading.
