Parenting: A Bond of love & care !!!

Parenting! How difficult is parenting in today's time? What are the measurements to check your method of parenting? Do parenting methods have to change with time? 

Hello, my dear readers! Very warm greetings and best wishes to y'all for the jovial start of this year. Also, thanks a lot for your love, blessings, and your worthy comments on my blogs. This blog is dedicated to all the parents and children of the current time.

Parenting is indeed the most responsible job which is a  bit more difficult to practice in today's time. A time when every single piece of news you hear is screaming out that the environment you're in is not as friendly as you might think.  Whether it is on news channels you hear about an increase in the number of rape cases or thefts, or from your friends, neighbors, and relatives, about an increase in the number of suicides among elderly people, students, or well-educated unemployed sections of our society. 

         Parents, nowadays, are so concerned about their kids, which is a sense of rectitude that every parent should always practice.

However, sometimes a child needs time to absorb the moment he is going through, and maybe a moment to take a breath and take heart to talk to you (parent) about what's going on in their minds. That's why many people do say that parenting is a job where an individual has to play many roles, sometimes the role of a strict parent and sometimes of a best buddy or what we (millennials) term as BFFs.  

Many psychologists do state that a child's mental growth (mindset) is not only influenced by parents or teachers they meet every day but also by the society they live in.

This means, being a parent we have to take care but as part and intellectual citizens of this society, we have to be careful about our thoughts, our language, and most importantly our attitude towards the new generation. 

          My dear readers, today's era is all about learning! The environment your child is surrounded with is full of competition. A competition that is now not limited to achieving better grades in schools and colleges but it is more about what you know or maybe, at times, what you show.

Everyone is now competing to create a unique identity in their groups and to achieve that they may go to any extent whether it is by losing their original self and being fake or by doing actions by being influenced by others. (I sincerely apologize but it is true in many cases.) This is called PEER PRESSURE. Let me just clarify one thing for parents as well as the people going through this age. Peer Pressure is often considered a bad influence of a bad company which is not always true, it can be directed to a positive change in an individual, instead. Parents, you will have to understand and come up with certain tricks whenever you see your child demanding or acting differently due to the effect of the same (peer pressure). Also, my GenZ fellows, you will have to keep yourself calm and try to make your parents understand your point of view, similarly, try to understand your parent's views too! 

A secret formula to measure a healthy parent-children relationship, that is being created by me is the 'RTL' formula, i.e. "Respect Transparency Laughter".

 In my view, a Parent-Children relationship is said to be healthy or nice when;

1. If there's mutual respect for the presence, views, and work (be it the parent's job or child's studies). 
2. If there's transparency while communicating on any issues, sharing thoughts and experiences (good or bad), and gradually updating or upgrading each other's perspective. 
3. And, if you play, laugh and eat together often and everybody enjoys this time.

By applying this formula we can measure our healthy relationship.

For me, love doesn't come from the air. Love can be lessened. But respect is something that can maintain that love in any relationship. 

So, parenting and its methods have not changed only from time to time but also, from person to person. While talking to many elderly people (my grandparent's generation), and observing the lifestyle of many people from foreign countries, a couple of parenting methods that are quite valid, practical, and easy to practice every time are;

Stick to your roots:- 

Stick to your traditions and make your child follow them and also understand the exact logic behind them. Traditions, cultures, and religions are neither a waste of time nor create differences nor will they make your child a nerd or incompetent if the right logic and moral outcomes of these are taught.

Don't set parameters for them:-

 It is often seen that parents and other family members tend to set goals for the child, such as passing the 10th and 12th with good marks then, getting into a good college then, applying for a good job, marriage and so on. It is very well-known that many memes and standup comedy artists make fun of these. Also, setting these parameters not only burdens your child but also, narrows his vision about life. Here, parents and everybody others should discuss together and let the child express his ideas and his plans for his life. Once you know your child's perspective on their unknown destination to success, guide them through a secure way. 

Correctly handle your child's curiosities:- 

At times, you might have heard or faced a child's curiosity through some weird questions such as why water is wet. But because of not knowing the correct answer to that question or not being able to make the child understand the complex and confusing logic, we either tell them stories or choose not to answer them. In some cases this creates a negative impact on the child's growth as when he studies about it or gets to know about it somewhere outside, he becomes more prone to believe in some nonsense, superstitious and wrong myths that he might follow throughout his life blindly. 

At last, I would conclude by saying that, the Parent-Child Relationship is one that nurtures the physical, emotional and social development of the child. It is a uniaue bond that every child and parent will can enjoy and nurture. This relationship lays the foundation for the child's personality, life choices and overall behaviour. It can also affect the strength of their social, physical, mental and emotional health. 

That's all from my side! Hope you liked the concept and motive of this blog. Please write your thoughts, your opinions and your parenting tips in the comment section below.  Your comments will indeed enlighten me and all other readers too. Thank you for your love for my blogs and best wishes to all my blog readers. 

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, and Stay Happy!!!

                                                    ~Ridhima Kaul