My wife and I had dinner a couple of nights ago with a two couples that we really respect. One family has four kids, the other has five, so they definitely have had more practice in the parenting world than us. Both sets have been able to raise kids with drastically different personalities to have the same standard and be people of great character. That’s probably every parents dream for their kids, and why we asked them out to dinner. Here are some nuggets that we gleaned about teaching character and developing a household standard:
[mls_h4]Top 10 Parenting Standards to Never Deviate From[/mls_h4]
10. Don’t count; get off the couch and discipline.
- No matter what your rear end and weariness attempt to convince you.
9. Always apologize when you are wrong.
- Even when it hurts or is embarrassing.
8. Give the expectation before arriving.
- You want your kids to act a certain way at an event, restaurant, or a friends’ house? Then let them know how you want them to act before entering.
7. Praise the positive.
- On your way out of an event, let them know when they met or exceeded your expectations; praise is one of the best ways of teaching.
6. There are no bad kids.
- It’s usually behavior that is allowed at home, and the child just needs to be taught what’s expected at your house or church.
5. Filter the friends.
- Your child doesn’t need to have 30 best friends, so don’t settle for friends who have different standards than you. You want iron to sharpen iron, not open the door to corrupting the morals of your kids.
4. Always be a blessing to others.
- Take on the self-centeredness head on! Be looking for opportunities for each of your kids to be a blessing, even when it’s not convenient.
3. Don’t let a lack of time steal opportunities to teach life lessons.
- We usually aren’t just sitting around waiting for life lessons to present themselves. We need to be looking for them when busy, and slow down enough to teach them.
2. Consistency is key.
- There are no weekends or days off. If you are a parent, you need to be enforcing the standards all the time.
1. Don’t allow yourself to deviate from the standards.
- Your kids secretly want to be like you, and usually learn what really is important or not by how you live.