We all want to do the very best we can as a Parent. The impact of a parent on a child is huge, so it’s worth making the most of our opportunity as parents to make the most positive impact possible. On this week’s episode of The Impact Hour, we look at How to Be a Great Parent. Click here to listen.

Here’s just a couple of the great tips we explore:

For young children, it’s super-important to not shut down their feelings when those feelings are uncomfortable for us or or inconvenient for us. It’s so easy to tell them to stop crying instead of letting their sadness be OK. It’s really a process to learn to be OK with our own feelings so we can be with the feelings of our kids. Try this out: simply name the feeling and affirm it. “I see you’re really sad. I understand, that’s really sad.” When we don’t shut down their feelings, they can learn to feel and move through the feeling, which will help them handle their feelings better when they grow up.

For older kids, seek to understand them. All people need to feel seen, heard and understood. It’s a great practice to ask into your teen’s worldview, beliefs and values. Be careful to not correct, making what they believe wrong or bad. Instead, simply let them know you heard them and thank them for sharing. That can be challenging for you, as you recognize that you may not have instilled the values and beliefs you meant to. But it will lead to a more open, trusting relationship where you can share your views at another time when the teen will be more likely to be receptive.

We really covered a lot more about how to be a great parent. Click here if you’d like to listen to the radio show recording.