What’s your parenting goal? Do you want to show your kids you’re the boss? Or do you want to nurture self-sufficient and well-rounded individuals?

Good parenting is based on children’s intellectual, physical, emotional, and social development. It fosters creativity, honesty, and kindness. Therefore, it’s crucial to be mindful of your role in your child’s life.

Since parenting doesn’t come with a how-to guide, there will be occasional mess-ups. And that’s okay. A flexible parenting style is key. However, you must also adjust it according to your child’s individual needs.

Let us share some tips on good parenting and raising a healthy family:

1. Value Your Mental Health:

Parents are the foundation of the family unit. If you’re not in a stable place mentally, it’ll be hard to care for your children the way you want to. In addition, work stress, relationship problems, and financial woes affect your mental health.

Usually, these unpleasant circumstances cause individuals to indulge in unhealthy coping mechanisms like drinking, smoking, or overeating.

These habits can lead to abuse, mental illness, or trauma in children. In addition, it’ll be difficult to respond appropriately to your child’s needs if you’re not in a good state of mind. So, if you frequently turn to these crutches, it’s time to re-evaluate your situation. 

Reach out to your partner, family, or friends for support. If you don’t have a support system, consider therapy or counseling. Behavioral health groups, like Delphi, offer resources and services to help you get back on track.

2. Be Mindful of How You Handle Tantrums:

Vision a check-out scenario in a grocery store. A kid throws a tantrum because he wants a candy bar from the racks near the cash register. The mother, exasperated, hisses at him to “just be quiet and behave.” Instead, the child only cries more. Other shoppers are now watching the scene, some with pity, others with judgment.

While it’s justified for parents to get angry with their children sometimes, how you express that anger makes a big difference. Yelling, hitting, or using hurtful words can damage your relationship with your child and set a bad example. It can also lead to increased anxiety, depression, and acting out in school or with friends.

Instead of getting angry, try to stay calm and talk to your child about what’s upsetting them. Showing them that you’re willing to listen and understand will go a long way in helping them feel loved and secure.

3. Be Consistent with Your Discipline:

Discipline is integral to parenting, but it’s only effective if it’s consistent. That means you must ensure that everyone responsible for caring for your child is on the same page regarding rules and expectations.

If you have a rule that your child is only allowed to have one dessert per day, ensure that all caregivers enforce that rule. If you allow your child to watch TV for an hour on weekdays but not on weekends, be sure that everyone knows and follows that rule.

If the rules are inconsistent, your child will quickly learn that they can get away with certain behaviors if they keep trying different people until they find someone who will give in. It weakens your spot as the authority figure and can lead to behavioral problems down the road.

4. Make Mealtimes Screen-Free Zones:

It’s become increasingly common to see families gathered around the table, with each person staring at their screen instead of interacting with one other. While there’s nothing wrong with occasionally using screens during mealtimes (after all, we live in a digital world), ensure that mealtimes are opportunities for face-to-face interaction within your family.

This practice will improve communication and bonding within your family and lead to healthier eating habits. When distracted by screens, we’re more likely to overeat or make less healthy food choices.

We understand it’s not an easy task to get children to put down their screens, but you can always incentivize them by offering rewards for good behavior. For example, you can offer to let them have an extra half hour of screen time if they eat their dinner without complaining or arguing.

5. Model Healthy Behavior Yourself:

What’s your relationship with food like? Do you eat junk food often, or do you make an effort to eat healthy meals? Do you get enough exercise or spend most of your time sitting on the couch?

Your children watch everything you do and will likely mimic your behavior. Therefore, if you want your children to develop healthy habits, you must model those habits yourself.

That doesn’t mean you have to be perfect, but make an effort where you can.

Pick that broccoli off your plate instead of pushing it around. Go for a walk with the family after dinner instead of plopping down in front of the TV. You can also schedule family hikes on the weekends or opt for a vigorous game of tag at the park. By modeling healthy behavior, you’ll make it more likely that your kids will adopt those habits themselves.

6. Love Doesn’t Spoil, Its Replacements Do:

You must have heard, ‘You’ve spoilt him with your love’ at some point in your parenting journey. And it’s something most of us worry about without even realizing it.

The truth is love doesn’t spoil children. Its replacements do.

When you replace sessions of cuddles and laughter with a new toy every time your child cries, you’re teaching them that they can buy love with money. When you give in to their every demand because you can’t handle their tantrums, you’re teaching them that they can control you with their behavior.

And when you stop being physically affectionate because you think they’re too old for it, you’re teaching them that love is conditional and has an expiration date.

So, don’t worry about spoiling your child with love. Instead, focus on being present and attentive when they need you.

Conclusion:

There are countless benefits to raising a healthy family – better physical health, improved mental well-being, stronger communication between family members, and more quality time spent together are just a few of them! Luckily, many easy ways to incorporate healthy habits into your family routine without making significant lifestyle changes.

You can start small and gradually build up to more significant changes down the road. And remember, the most important thing is to be consistent with your efforts. It might take some time to see results, but by modeling healthy behavior and making your family’s health a priority, you’re setting them up for a lifetime of success!