A video has been circulating recently that makes the bold statements that “I am not my kid’s buddy. I am their parent and they are angry with me because I parented them.”
While I agree that more parents need to parent their children and not worry so much whether them doing that makes the kid happy. I also feel that in today’s day and age, your child has to have a friend that they can confide in. If you are not friends with you child, how can you hope to know what is going on in their lives. This doesn’t mean as a friend that you need to always give them their way, it simply means that you are constantly working on building a relationship of trust.
We walk a fine line as parents. My guidelines for being a good parent are:
1) Love the child.
2) Spend time with them.
3) Listen to them.
4) Be an example.
5) Be stern but understanding.
6) Correct and punish, when necessary.
7) Show an increase of love.
Parenting is hard. Trust me, with 6 kids, I get it but being a successful parent goes far beyond just laying down the lay and forcing them to comply.