The best piece of advice i could give to new parents - having been one myself - is to stop your children from eating any sweets. You’ll think that i’m being cruel but i’m really not. Allowing your kids to have cans of pop (they are packed with sugar), as well as letting them eat sweets is the biggest mistake you’ll make. Diet drinks are even worse because they’re filled full of sweeteners (which are the daftest thing that’s ever been invented). If you don’t believe me about the effects that sugar can have on your kids just see it for yourself. Dr Jekyll will turn into Mr Hyde before your very eyes. But be warned. Sugar is very addictive.
Something else you can do is to stop them from smoking. The way that you do that is to stop smoking, yourself. If you, or your partner smoke - it’s highly likely that your kids will too. There’s help from your local health centre. so don’t be afraid to ask them about it. Do something positive for your kids. They will thank you for it and when you’ve quit smoking just look at how much money you will have saved.
Next, be a better human being. Do things to help people out. Don’t do them because you want to make some money. Teach this to your kids. Be an example to them.
Show your kids who’s the boss but do it in a good way. Don’t let them be spoilt. Ever. Treat them the way you want others to treat you. It’s a very important lesson. Spend as much time with your kids as you can. They won’t be kids forever.
Parenthood is a thankless task and a lot of people won’t have a clue what to do but, hopefully, this post will help you make better, much more informed decisions. I know my dad would have agreed with what i’ve done. He’s helped me out loads of times and i’ve always been there for my mother. Maybe the days when we put other people before ourselves has gone. i hope not. My mate Chris has always given his time and energy to help other people. He’d look shocked if anyone offered him any money for doing it.
Good, simple advice Terry. A lot of good parenting is common sense. I am proud to say that my wife and I gave our two children a great start in life with love and common sense.
ReplyDeleteA lot of it is common sense but we still need to be told sometimes.
DeleteMy kids are all young adults now and it is hard to realise that anything I got wrong with them is done now, with no real chance of fixing it. I did my best and there's not much more I could do than that. I agree with you on the sugar thing!
ReplyDeleteIf it’s done there’s nothing else you can do.
DeleteVery positive advice for new parent and for anyone indeed. Too many parents loose control of their kids and unless it's corrected early, they will grow up to be miserable selfish adults.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Julia
Good comments Julia. Growing up in the 1990s, the government did everything they could to make things tougher for parents.
DeleteI agree with everything you wrote Terry. I've never been one to want kids and never will, Alex is the same way, we just prefer the furry type of kids lol...being a better human is always a good thing to pass on though, in our age of technology, impatience and selfish attitudes.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was never going to have a family, Rain. Little did I know.
DeleteGreat advice all around! Parenting is not easy, and sometimes we learn new things along the way just like our kids do.
ReplyDeleteYes Martha, children arrive when we least expect it
DeleteI never had children of my own. Good advice, Terry. Commonsense should never be over-rated and should always be put into practice.
ReplyDeleteHi Lee, thanks for the comments. I never thought i’d be a parent. It just goes to show you, eh?
DeleteSimple advice! And I do tend to agree with it all.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, CountryMum.
DeleteRaising good kids is one of the most undervalued and yet most important jobs on the planet. And there is no degree or diploma for it, no training in high school, not even any YouTube videos to help a person out! I think some of the best advice comes from grandparents but these days they often live far away from their grandkids. You've given good advice here, Terry.
ReplyDeleteI tried my best. I never smoked but both my daughters do, and I feel like I failed.
ReplyDelete