7 STEPS TO BETTER PARENTING

1. SEEK GOOD ADVICE
It's strange the way unsolicited advice comes to us especially when the people giving them notice the need in our lives. Don't be moved by everything you hear. use your brains and seek the advice of one person who knows most about how to raise children - God and from His word- the Bible.

2. CREATE A LOVING HOME
Children need love and wither without it. In the 1950s, anthropologists M.F. Ashley Montagu wrote: " what the human organism requires most for its development is a nutrient of love; the source of virtually all healthis in the experience of love, especially within the first six years of life." Modern researchers echo Montagu's conclusion that "Children suffer serious crippling effects when exposed to an inadequate diet of love."
3. EXERCISE YOUR AUTHORITY
Studies show that "children brought up by loving but authoritative parents-those who are supportive of their children yet maintain firm limits - excel academically, develop better social skills, feel good about themselves, and are happier overall than kids whose parents are either too lenient or excessively harsh," says Parents magazine.

4. DEFINE FAMILY RULES AND ENFORCE THEM PROMPTLY
"The fact is," says Ronald Simons, a sociologist at the University of Georgia, "kids fare better with clear rules and firm consequences. Without structure, children become self-absorbed, selfish, and unhappy - and they make everyone around them miserable too." God's word states: "If you love your children, you will correct them." - Proverbs 13:24

5. ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN ROUTINES
Routines are a major part of adult life. Work, worship and even recreation usually follow set routines. Parents hamdicap their children if they do not teach them to structure their time and to stick to a schedule. On the other hand, "Studies show that having rules and structure make a child feel safe and secure, and teach self-control and self-reliance," says Dr. Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology.

6. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR CHILD'S FEELINGS
Children want and need the most important people in their lives - their parents- to know how they feel. If parents habitually contradict their children when such feelings are expressed, the children will be less likely to open up to them and may even start to doubt their ability to feel and think for themselves.

7. TEACH BY EXAMPLE
Actions teach. Words only impart information. For example parents may tell their children to be respectful and speak the truth. However if these same parents scream at each other or at their children and tell lies to excuse themselves from inconvinient obligations, they teach that this is how adults should behave. "Copying parents is one of the most powerful ways that children learn," says author Dr. Sal Severe.