The T.R.AI.N. Series: A Kids Manual To Parenting (Part II)

This post is the second part of a discussion I started in an earlier post. If you've not read it, kindly check it from the blog page. It's titled: "T.R.A.I.N. Series: A Kids Manual To Parenting".

This post presents to us another dimension to the acronym under consideration. In this post the TRAIN acronym stands for:

T - Test

R - Restore

A - Attend

I - Inspire

N - Nurture

See you at the end of the post

TEST

Be ready to deliberately test how much of the instructions you've given that they are living by; how much of the advice they are heeding to; and how much of a great parent you are.

The truth is no parenting style or method is totally infallible. No matter how great your approach to parenting might be, no matter how much of confidence you might have in how you groom your kids, one very important part of life that serves as a great check and balancing tool is constant appraisal. It helps us curb any form of excesses that might have subtly crept into our perfectly drawn plan.

Every parent need to constantly appraise themselves by the various tests they give to their kids to be sure the values they are inculcating in them are being absorbed and that they are living the kind of life that's best for them within the scope of the trainings they have received.

RESTORE

Every discipline should be tailored towards moulding positive characters in them and not not to destroy them. One great quality of a great parent is to know when to punish and when to embrace.

Every correction and punishment metted out on the kids must be constructive in nature. The main goal of the punishment is to correct the vice or its traces and not to hurt the personality of the child. Children tend to become insecure when they conclude in their minds that the punishment they received was not borne out of love but to destroy their psyche or self worth.

Parents need to realize the importance of "embrace" after the punishment. This will send a message of love to the child and he/she will realize that the punishment was not because they hate them but because they love them enough not to allow them indulge in such destructive vices.

ATTEND

Be ready to be that wonderful and best friend they crave to have. Be there to witness their best moments; don't be absent at their worst time too. Let them grow the confidence that even if everybody lives, you will be around.

The truth is that as a parent you will always be busy. There will always be something craving your attention ranging from work pressures, and other socio-ecomomic responsibilities. That's exactly why parenting has not and will not be an easy task.

But the truth of the matter is when you bring up your children in an environment where they feel loved and attended to, you are building am army of well formed individuals for the future. When your kids believe that even though you are extremely busy but you still make out time for them, they will value those moments no matter how short the duration and always look forward to it.

INSPIRE

Be ready to act out every instruction you give. The best way for them to believe that you're not asking them to do the impossible is to live by example.

More often than none you will discover that it is relatively much easier for you to instill certain values into your kids when they see you live out those values.

The way we are structured as human is that we tend to move towards the point of least resistance. When you commit your kids to certain tasks especially if those tasks are new to them, one probable reaction is to want to to evade especially if it will take them away from their comfort zones. One very potent internal push you give them to spur their enthusiasm is for them to see you live out what you demand from them. This way you are simply telling them "I'm not asking you to attempt the impossible, whatever I have asked you to do or become is what is attainable" and that alone is enough mental push to see the through the process.

NURTURE

Be ready to expose and train their mind to embrace continuous growth as they become a source of inspiration to others.

Your children are your first student and your family is their first school. How all they will fare in the school of life is greatly dependent on how much you've been able to prepare them for it.

Take every opportunity you get to expose them to constructive information and growth platforms. Spend money on books, and other instructional materials. Take them out for sight seeing and help them explore their environment. Teach them the importance of observation and how to gather data from various occurrences in the environment. Teach them the importance of adding values to themselves and encourage them to think constructively to proffer solutions to certain domestic problems. Encourage them to be current with the recent happenings in the environment and various technological advancements.

This way you're setting them up as a repository of knowledge for the future and hereby making them indispensable to their generation.

They will love you for it.

You'll be always be a proud parent too.

In a nutshell, parenting though tasking and highly demanding can be really fun if approached the right way.

The joy of parenthood is having children that you'll be proud of and who in turn would be proud that they came into this world through you. This is what this piece has been designed to address.

I'm confident that if parents will critically consider every point itemized in this post and the previous (leading) post, then the story will definitely change and we will have happier parents, better children and sweeter societies.

Thanks for your time.

Love y'all.

Segun Ogunsunlade.