Being a good Parent is hard; you need to be disciplined, open-minded, affectionate and strong-willed to be able to raise disciplined kids. The family is the nucleus of the society and parents need to help the society become a better place by making sure they train their kids to be decent people. Being a good parent in a world where family values are being eroded is one tough job that puts most parents on edge.

Most parents have left the responsibility of parenting to the society thereby making their kids learn nothing on how best to make meaning out of life. As a parent to four energetic kids, I and my wife have to be strong to bring them up to be independent, self-sufficient and responsible.

When we were growing up our parents were in the eyes of the world disciplinarians but from the family perspective, we saw it as love.

“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son who he receives.” – Hebrew 12:6

How a good parent brings up kids effortlessly

The first rule a good parent should know about raising disciplined kids is to love them tenderly. This love requires you to provide their basic needs such as food, shelter, health care, and education.

“Train a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6

Another way of loving them is training them in the right path so that they follow a route to being disciplined and successful in life. Training kids in the right path will make them become useful to themselves and to the society when they grow up. This is the way a good parent contributes to making the society a better place.

Let me share with you how I and my wife train our kids by following these rules:

1. A good parent is curious

Learn to know what your kids are up to; in school and at home. Being inquisitive as a good parent means you should be asking your kids questions so as to find out what their plans are. Curiosity also means you communicate with their teachers to find out how they are coping in school and with other kids.

2. Bring them up in the fear of the Lord

Good Christian parents should learn to bring up their kids in the fear of the Lord. At the age of 5, parents should learn to carry their kids along in family prayer sessions. This family prayer sessions can take place once a week.

They should not just gather for prayers, get them involved in reading bible verses and offering up their own prayers. I have found out that training kids to partake in prayer early in life help you better understand their commitment or lack of commitment to prayer.

Those kids who show nonchalance to prayer at this stage should be taught the importance of prayer in the life a person. You should then proceed to encourage them to be involved in prayer to help build their spirit man as they would their physical being.

3. Teach them to be self-reliant

We started teaching our kids to be self-reliant at the age of 2. At a year and six months, two of our kids started developing an interest in feeding themselves. We found this to be a wonderful idea and we encouraged them by giving them food on their plate and providing them with a spoon to feed themselves.

The experience can be discouraging but the enthusiasm of the kids to help themselves is what encouraged us. At 2 years of age, our kids were feeding themselves with little assistance. A good parent should begin early to teach their kids how to be self-reliant by teaching them how to dress themselves up, partake in house chores, and brush their teeth.

This way parents can help their kids find purpose in life at an early age.

4. A good parent teaches kids to be independent

Parents should teach their kids the importance of being independent. This begins with the way you help your kids with their homework assignment. I have a 9-year-old daughter who likes asking me to do her homework. One way I stopped this request and helped her become independent in doing her homework was to go through her classwork with her and request she explain the topic to me.

After she could explain the topic to me, I made her do the class examples in my presence and finally I walked her through her homework by asking questions. The questions I ask her and the answers she provides is the way I learned to teach her to be independent with her homework assignment. As a result of this question and answer session, each time she thinks of bringing her homework to me and she remembers I will go through the question sessions she goes ahead with the homework.

5. Teach kids Empathy

Learn to teach your kids compassion at an early age. A good parent should teach kids how to show kindness and a willingness to help others especially the less privilege. This way parents will be raising kids who are decent.

In essence, the society needs a lot of compassionate people because our world is filled with people who are suffering and need help.

6. Teach kids to find passion

A good parent should help kids find the passion for solving problems and succeeding in life. You can assess their level of passion by the way they take care of their homework assignment. Parents should teach kids to be passionate about what they do so that they find joy in working hard.

Kids will learn to find the passion if they see that you are passionate about what you do. Kids learn by watching what others do and how people live their lives.

7. Regulate the TV

Parents should learn to regulate the TV time and channels that their kids watch if they will raise disciplined kids. Kids are inquisitive and if you do not regulate the TV time at home you will be sorry someday.

8. Make out time to learn with them

I have found out that when parents learn with their kids at home they tend to give them some sense of belonging. Kids are happy when their parents are around to teach them. They also learn fast when you are around to read with them and help them with understanding their homework.

9. Play with them

Good parents should learn to play with their kids. I have found that my kids are amazed when they see I can play their kind of play. Kids love their parents spending time with them by playing outside with them.

10. Teach them bedtime

Finally, you should teach your kids that there is time for everything and that bedtimes should be respected. They need to understand that there is a time to put all activity aside and go to bed. Teach them that going to bed early will help them wake up early and be strong to face the day’s activity. Let them understand that lack of adequate sleep will impact their health negatively.

In conclusion, a good parent can raise disciplined and decent kids by following the rules I have mentioned above.

Every child that is well trained is an asset to the society.

Let me know how you are coping with your role as a good parent.

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