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Topic 179 What are qualities of a good parent?

Parents play an important role in the child's upbringing. However, it is not easy to be a good parent, much to the surprise of those who think dealing with young children is a piece of cake. In my view, to be a good parent you have to meet certain requirements that I am going to discuss further in the following paragraphs.

You should spend time with your child. Please do not mistake me. By that I am not saying you must resign from your job and stay at home with your baby all day; instead, I am referring to quality time. To be a good parent you need to know your child well; if you do not even have the minimum amount of time to start with, how on earth are you going to know your child? No matter how busy you are, be you a businessman or a police officer, you must get some time off work to be with your child. Knowing how impressionable a child at his tender age is, you cannot expect him to feel close to someone he barely see everyday, much less play the role of a good parent. However, I am not talking about large amount of time that busy as you are, you may not be able to afford. Remember, it is quality time, not quantity time. You can be a CEO and still be a good parent if you make good use of the limited amount of time you spend with your child. A small talk after dinner or a little story before bed may well perform the magic.

In order to be a good parent, you also have to be strict; it is for the child's own good. He may not like it of course, who will? However, it is from strict parent that a child learns discipline. Under certain circumstances I even agree with the use of force. A good beating or a severe scolding is far easier to remember for a little child than a patient persuasion. He is too young for you to reason with; but you can make him learn his lesson the hard way if the little sweet talk fails. Though I think the use of force is the last resort a parent should turn to, it is nonetheless rather effective.

A good parent should be caring and loving. A strong bond is formed between the parent and the child if there is love. This is something magical and inexplicable but both the parent and the child feel it. What makes a parent so special and important is the unconditional love he/she gives to his/her child. A loving and caring environment is very crucial in a child's growth. Statistics have shown that those from happy families have a more optimistic view of the world and generally live happy lives, while those from broken families or families where both parents quarrel often are more irritable and peevish. A child's character is easily shaped by the surroundings so it is a parent's responsibility to provide a loving environment to his/her child.

A good parent should also be a good role model for the child to look up to. A child learns many of his habits from his parents and it is all up to a parent to choose what kind of habits he/she wants his/her child to inherit. For example, a parent should immediately quit smoking if he/she notices his/her child has the tendency to pick up this bad habit. All in all, a good parent should behave himself in order to set good examples to his child. To be a good parent is hard but not impossible; in fact I believe all those who really put in a great deal of effort should find themselves doing well in this job. After all what is more important is the attitude; if one wants to be a good parent, he can do it.

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