The 5 Things Remarkable Parents Do Every Day

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Remarkable parents are not gifted with some magical talent or have gone through special training. Remarkable parents are great because of how they act towards their children each day.

What a parent does around their children has a major impact on how the children will act and feel about themselves.

Do you want remarkably happy, co-operative children with a great sense of self worth? Do these five things every day:

Engage in each child individually

Sure it is convenient to bundle your kids together if you have a few of them, but that is not going to create a strong bond with each of your children.

Children who do not receive attention and love individually are much more likely to make sure they get attention - even if it is through testing your limits and acting out.

Your job as a parent is to help your children grow into loving, independent persons with a strong sense of self-worth. You can't possibly do that by treating your kids as a group that you drive to school, server dinner, wash and put to bed together. Convenient and time-saving for sure, but not a way to really know your child.

So give attention to and spend time with each of your children separately.

Focus on the good and fun

Praise your children for who they are and what they do. Have fun with them. A laughing child who feels good about herself and feels loved is a lot more likely to cooperate.

How much fun is nagging? How efficient is it? Bite your tongue every time you start repeating instructions to your child over and over again. Obviously your way of communication isn't very effective, so try another way!

Some efficient ways to get children to listen are preparation, body and eye contact. Are you positive that your child really heard you say (for the 10th time) to turn off the TV? You won't know unless you gave these instructions with eye contact. So maybe it is your fault that your child isn't responding. How fair is then to yell the 10th time, which happens to be the first time you child actually heard what you said?

Also remember to always give at least 5 times more praise than corrections. For the child, that is going to feel like about 50% of each; that's how bad it feels to get corrective feedback for any human.

Deal with problems immediately and with little fuss

Children should never hear their parents say "Why haven't you got dressed yet, although I told you to 10 minutes ago. It is the same thing every day, you never listen to me. Are you deaf or something?" Yet they do, and by that being taught that they do wrong all the time - only mom or dad doesn't necessarily tell them all the time. Talk about walking in a minefield. How would that make you feel - knowing that your boss is collecting your mistakes silently only to blow up in your face at any point in time?

Children live in the presence. (Lucky them!) A friendly reminder (with eye and body contact) will solve many, many situations where you child isn't following your instructions. Your instructions happened in the past (2 minutes ago), and are so easily forgotten when something more exciting is happening right now.

Serve your children, not yourself

Our children are not in this world to build our self esteem, we are here to build theirs. You can get away with acting selfishly and taking things personally for a while, but over time, putting your own interests and feelings above those of your children will inevitably push your children away from you.

So your child is yelling that you are dump, ugly and he hates your guts. Not fun to hear! Is it about you? Should you treat it like it is about you? A child loves her parents no matter what. No matter what. So whatever flays out of their mouths when angry and frustrated isn't relevant. It is not about you. (Unless it is relevant feedback, of course.)

Remarkable parents listen to what is behind these tantrums. Empathy with the overwhelming feelings of your child will get you a lot further when it comes to connecting with your child, building your child's self worth and helping them handle their emotions in less destructive ways, than telling your child off or letting your self-esteem be hurt by the harsh words.

Your child is not responsible for your feelings. You are.

Prioritizing your children is not about losing your great career and all your hobbies (but maybe a couple of them). Just as much is about being present with your children whenever you have the chance. Really present. Not thinking about what your boss said or what you'll cook for dinner. Not checking your emails.

Serve your children by being present with them and not taking things personally.

Always remember that you are a role model

Once upon a time you were a child too. A child afraid of darkness, afraid that mom and dad would disappear, envious of other children's toys, feeling left out, annoyed when your mom or dad told you to go to bed or turn off the TV. It isn't that long ago.

As adults and parents we may often think that our children's views are narrow-minded, that they lack perspective and don't know what's best for them. So they should do what we tell them too. Because we know better.

But you know, your child will do what you do, not what you say. If you take time to listen to your child, empathize with their thoughts and feelings and try your very best to meet their needs, chances are a lot higher that they will do the same for you.

Whether you like it or not, you are your child's role model. Act one!

If you don't listen to your child, why should your child listen to you (or anyone else)?

If you yell at your child, why should he or she act differently when feeling upset?

If you prioritize your own interests, feelings and needs, how will your child learn to care about others?

If you prioritize your children, make them feel loved just the way they are, laugh together, take part in their thoughts, interests and feelings, communicate your instructions well in time, clearly and friendly, and stay calm and caring even when they are acting out; imagine how that will make your children feel and act.

Imagine what remarkable parents your children will be in the future...