I asked my parents several questions regarding their parenting style. The things that they said were really sweet to me. It meant a lot to have it in writing because I have always really valued their roles as my parents. They have been the perfect balance for me of parents and friends. I have always felt that they treat me as their equal, and they have always had so much trust and faith in me. Because of that, I have always wanted to do things that would be pleasing to them.
This is what they had to say regarding their motives/techniques:
Motivation:
Desire to raise children to be good people who love the Lord and love
their neighbor.
Parenting
Styles:
-
Establish our
values as a family, and then do our best to model and teach those values
-
Set some rules,
but mostly trust our kids to do what’s right
-
Strongly believe
in treating our children with respect, and not dictating to them everything
they should do
-
Something along
the lines of Joseph Smith’s saying “…teach them correct principles and they
govern themselves”
Some
Objectives:
-
Teach the Gospel
with the intent of children growing up to make covenants and follow the Lord
-
Teach obedience
-
Teach children to
respect, love and serve others
-
Teach children
how to work and be responsible
How
well we followed our ideal:
-
There’s ALWAYS
room for improvement as a parent – we’re learning as we go
-
Overall, we
raised/are raising our kids the way we have hoped to – but feel we fall short a
lot of the time
-
Our kids are
awesome, so despite our shortcomings, they’re turning out great so far
Some
of greatest challenges:
-
Learning how to
handle different personalities – everybody can’t be parented exactly the same
way.
-
Knowing when to
keep pushing and when to back off
-
Getting kids to
do chores!
-
Seeing our kids
suffer/experience pain – physical or emotional.
-
Having enough
time to take care of everyone’s needs
Some
of our greatest joys:
-
Seeing our kids
be successful in anything – from a test at school, to a game or performance, or
even just being a good friend
-
Watching them
move through each stage of life – always something to love about every age!
-
Our kids
developing their own testimonies and choosing righteous paths
-
The bond we have
as a family – times just sitting around together talking about our day
-
When our kids are
happy
-
When our kids
show love to anyone
Advice:
-
Pray about/for
your kids – be specific and seek the help of the Lord
-
Communicate as
parents and be on the same team
-
Keep
communication open and active with kids
-
Let them know
they’re loved no matter what
Father and son photo from