There are unlimited sources of parenting advice and guidance.
However, not all these sources provide quality advice as some of the sources are used by inexperienced experts to provide poor parenting advice. The main aim of such sources is a money-making with no intent to provide parents with reliable tips, advice, and instructions.
Here are some of the top sources to get expert and professional parenting advice:
Parenting magazines
Even though there has been a decline in the production of print media in the recent past due to the onset of electronic media, parenting magazines are still a reliable avenue to get quality parenting advice.
Some of the parenting tips and advice in these magazines are provided by renown counselors and parenting experts.
When referring to magazines for parental advice, you should look for actionable and quality information that will help you in your parenting efforts. It is important to seek guidance on how to parent children in different stages; particularly when they are transitioning to adulthood from teenage life.
Blogs and websites
In the current times of technological advancement, blogs and websites have become an easily accessible source of information.
As such, you can turn to parenting blogs and websites to get pro parenting advice and guidance from expert family counseling professionals. Presently, there are thousands of blogs and websites on the internet that exclusively provide tons of information on appropriate and healthy parenting.
Family counselors
Family counseling is yet another effective and dependable way of acquiring the best tips on being a good parent.
Counselors pride themselves in having years of practice and experience in handling family issues and advising parents. This makes the counselors a perfect option for seeking parenting advice.
The best thing about using family counselors for parenting information and advice is that these professionals also provide tips on other issues such as having a happy family. Therefore, when you use these professionals, you get more than you bargain for. You should ensure that you only settle for the best and highly reputable family counselors.
Pediatricians
The parenting advice and guidance offered by pediatricians come in handy when parenting infants and young children.
It is worth noting that even though infants and children may not have started talking yet; there are numerous ways they use to express their feelings, reactions, and moods. As a parent, you should know the various ways your infant uses to communicate with you.
With proper parenting advice from pediatricians, you can be able to attend to your infant’s needs including infant sleep issues, health issues, and mood swings. These professionals also provide information on how to take care of your infant including dietary needs, and sleeping patterns.
It is important to note that the foundation of childhood and later adulthood is established through infancy parenting.
Psychologists
You may never know the importance of psychologists’ advice in parenting until you have to raise a troublesome child.
The best thing about psychologists is that these professionals make it easy for you to understand behavioral changes in children. For instance, teenagers tend to be more arrogant and have little respect for others during teenage life as adolescence takes the better part of their lives.
Psychologists will help you work on any of your parenting flaws influenced by aspects such as stress, depression, and failure to take responsibility when need be. Ideally, a parent should guide his/her child towards maturing into adulthood in the best way possible.
Generally, parenting is a stressful and engaging full-time activity that is mostly not fun or exciting at all.
This is why parents need to take care of their children’s needs as well as their own needs and strike a balance between the two. Parents should always remember that happiness is an important pillar in every home.
The importance of having a positive mindset in parenting
Positivity is crucial in parenting.
Parents need to be a source of inspiration and encouragement for their children. In addition to this, positivity helps in creating a support structure for children by emphasizing their strengths and abilities as opposed to majoring on their weaknesses. It is a core responsibility of parents to help their children achieve the best in their lives.
Involve your children in decision making
At all times, you should ensure that you make your children feel like part of your family.
Avoid sidelining them when making family decisions. This is because such actions may make them feel less important in the family and can, therefore, start drifting away from other family members.
Your children’s point of view should be considered when making decisions touching on family matters.
Avoid constant criticism
Children tend to be very vulnerable and susceptible to negative comments.
Unlike adults, children are unable to use criticism as a motivation to change their behavior. As such, it is important to limit negative criticism so that it does not end up interfering with their sense of self-believe and confidence. Instead, you should learn to encourage and motivate them after doing something good and worthwhile.
Monitor your child closely
As a parent, you need to be aware of what is happening in your children’s life at all times.
You should know how he/she is progressing with their academics as well as other aspects of life. Additionally, you need to know the kind of company your child has. This close monitoring and supervision will make it easy for you to advise your child and caution him/her when they seem to be following a wrong path in life.
Limit exposure to violent films and games
While violent games and films can be very entertaining, they can also impart the wrong skills and ideas to your child. Excessive exposure to these films and games can make them result to violence every time they are wronged by children and other people. You should teach them the importance of forgiveness and the need to use non-violent approaches when solving problems.
Parents need to understand that the emotions of their children are very fragile and as such, they should exercise care when handling and dealing with their children. When these feelings are not properly addressed, children can become depressed thereby hindering full activism of their brains.
