7 Simple Parenting Tips For A Happy Child

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” These two lines from Charles Dicken’s book “A Tale of Two Cities” can also sum up parenting. In the best of times, parenting is a beautiful journey filled with joy and love. But as any parent can tell you, in the worst of times, parenting is not an easy task at all and can be a bit challenging, to say the least. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to raising children, incorporating some simple yet effective strategies can certainly make the experience a lot easier and more enjoyable for both parents and children. In this blog post, I will share my 7 simple parenting tips that can help you to navigate the ups and downs of parenting with greater ease AND have a happy child at the same time!

Following are my seven simple parenting tips. While they may be simple, they are also essential tips parents can use to make parenting easier. I use these myself. They work for me and they should work for you too!

Simple Parenting Tip #1: Create Routines

Routines help children know what to expect, making them feel more secure and comfortable. It’s like a road map for them. Be consistent with your routine every day. They don’t work overnight. Children tend to forget very quickly, so changes to the routine or being off the routine for a couple of days can lead to frustration and stress for both children and parents.

From my experience, the best time to start following a routine is in the morning. In the morning, my children are more focused and teachable. While we still struggle to get our morning chores done from time to time, the rest of the morning usually follows pretty close to schedule.

When my family started following a morning routine, my children found it helpful to follow a checklist. If you are interested, I created a FREE Morning Routine checklist which you can use. Once you download it, you can print it as many times as you need.

To get your free Morning Routine Checklist, click on the button below and fill in your email so I can send your checklist to you!

Click here to get your free checklist!

Tip #2: Practice Positive Reinforcement

Praising your child’s effort or a job well done builds up their confidence. Positive reinforcement involves acknowledging and rewarding desired behaviors, actions, or accomplishments. It focuses on highlighting strengths, providing encouragement, and reinforcing positive outcomes. By using positive reinforcement, we can cultivate a mindset of motivation, resilience, and continuous improvement.

Tip #3: Set Boundaries

As a parent, you can create a supportive and safe environment for your children to thrive by setting clear and age-appropriate boundaries. Setting boundaries helps children to understand what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Boundaries help establish structure, promote discipline, and teach children important values such as respect, empathy, and responsibility.

Also, the boundaries that you set need to be enforced. Children need to know exactly what the boundary is, and they need to understand the consequences of crossing the line. Maybe it is “time out” for 15 minutes. Or perhaps it is a loss of tablet or phone privileges for a week. Whatever the consequence is, everyone needs to understand it and it must be enforced.

Simple Parenting Tip #4: Active Listening

Have you ever heard your 5-year-old say, “No one ever listens to me!” I have, and it hurts to hear this! During family discussions, it is easy to unintentionally talk over or dismiss a young child’s comments because, quite simply, they are young and inexperienced. While it can be difficult, becoming an active and attentive listener is one of the best things you can do as a parent. Children often feel respected and loved when a parent listens actively and provides support.

Tip #5: Take Care of Yourself

Have you ever tried to keep up with rambunctious 3-year-olds and 5-year-olds? I have two of them plus a 9-year-old and 11-year-old who are constantly dancing or doing some type of gymnastics all over the house. By the end of the day, I am both physically and mentally exhausted. So I always spend 1 to 2 hours every day on self-care.

Self-care is important to maintain your physical and mental well-being which in turn positively impacts your family. Children tend to follow their parent’s lead. If you take care of yourself, your children will do the same.

The best self-care that I do for myself is reducing stress. My favorite way to reduce stress is a long, hot bath before bed. Going for walks and crocheting are also great stress reliefs for me. Do you also have a lot of stress? If so, you can check out my post “14 Ways For Women To Reduce Stress” for some ideas that may also help you reduce your stress.

Tip #6: Speak Positively

Even though it has been 30 years since I was a child, I still remember the words and actions of my parents when I was good and also when I was naughty. Children are like sponges. They absorb everything that they hear and see whether good or bad. As parents, the way we talk to our children will affect the way our children see and view themselves. So if your child constantly hears complaints, grumbling, bad news, bad language, etc., their outlook on life will also be doom and gloom. Of course, the opposite is true as well. If your child constantly hears compliments, praise, good news, positive language, etc., your child will tend to have a positive outlook on life.

So, when your child becomes an adult in 20 years or so, which of your words or comments will they remember? This is why it is so important to speak positively to your children, but also to your spouse, loved ones, and everyone else that we interact with.

Simple Parenting Tip #7: Spend Time Together

The last, but definitely not least of my seven simple parenting tips is spending quality time together. Spending quality time with your children develops strong foundations of trust, understanding, and love between you and your children. By quality time, I mean your child has all of your attention for the allotted time. No phones. No tablets, computers, or television. Just one-on-one time with your child. Read books, build legos, color, play catch, play tag, go for a walk, talk about school and friends, etc. It doesn’t matter what you do, it just matters that you give your child your complete attention.

Conclusion

By incorporating these seven simple parenting tips into your parenting journey, you can create an environment that promotes growth, happiness, and harmony within your family. Just remember, parenting is a continuous learning process, and what works for one family might not work for another. So, find what resonates with you and adapt it to your unique family dynamics. Stay open to new strategies, cherish the beautiful moments, and enjoy the incredible journey of raising your children.