15 Parenting Ideas You (Maybe) Never Thought Of

Parenting can be so hard and one of the most difficult things we’ll do in this life BUT it’s worth it and beyond rewarding. We decided to list the top 15 parenting ideas you (maybe) never thought of —to help guide you through the “rough—parenting— waters” —and especially during these trying times.

Remember that you are not alone and, most importantly, none of us are perfect at this parenting thing.

#1 Don’t Parent Alone

There are so many parenting resources out there —for every kind of parent and their specific situation. There are Mom-specific and Dad-specific resources too. Google is a Parent’s best friend… we promise (as long as you click on the reliable and credible sites).

#2 Pick a Day Per Month for Your Kids to be “In-Charge” of The Family To-Dos

Yes, this means that you, as the parent, will be busy with your ToDo list —but trust us, this will make the kids feel really cool and give them a sense of what parents do every day. It’s always fun (and an insightful) learning lesson to put yourself in someone else’s shoes… after all, it’s only for a day. haha

You can do it!

#3 Teach Your Kids about Saving Money

Our friend, Blake, shared this cool family tool and resource below:

“With the current stay-at-home orders, parents are juggling homeschooling and entertaining kids, often while working at the same time. Since April is Financial Literacy Month, our experts created an interactive, printable workbook for children to teach them the importance of saving. This not only sets them up for future success, but also gives parents a little time back for themselves”:

With 14 activity and coloring pages, our guide also includes:

  • A calculator that illustrates the magic of compound interest for a child’s understanding
  • Budgeting worksheets to set savings goals and calculate how much to save
  • A quiz to test their learning with a certificate of completion at the end

Thanks, Blake! What a cool resource for families!

#4 Apologize When You’re Wrong

Learning to apologize, and doing it, can improve your relationship with children —and it makes it easier to gain trust and be a successful mentor in their lives.

#5 Provide a Routine and the Predictability Inside Your Home

All people need structure in life, especially kids! The importance of structure (and routine) is often overlooked.

Predictable routines at home (and outside of the home) help children develop self-discipline, have academic success, be flexible and confident to change, able to be in charge of themselves, provide an understanding of others, and much more.

Awesome habits are formed from childhood well into adulthood —and it becomes second nature to them.

#6 Foster the Habit of Collaboration in the Family

This idea (and really cool story) comes from our very own Ziglar Family CEO, Mark Timm’s article called “What Families Can Learn from Turtles and Geese“. Mark discusses families and collaboration in his own words below…

“Collaboration is such a critical habit for families that win. It’s also not easy to do, because we’re more naturally wired to compete than we are to collaborate. And that’s especially true with our kids!

They’re inclined to be more competitive than they are collaborative. That’s why we must, as parents, be intentional about collaboration and how we model it.”

#7 Keep Parenting Simple

Parenting can be so difficult so why not make it simple. It’s already known that life, in general, gets hard when it’s complicated. But the hardship is softened with the action of simplicity.

If you keep your life simplified, you’ll see your journey more clearly. With our overall human thirst for direction, we start listening to all of the voices around us. We are the driver of our car, and at some point, the answer has to come from within us. We can’t keep listening to others. We must take back the wheel.

We have to make decisions for our families —whatever works best for “your people” is what matters in the end.

#8 Let the Kids “Grade” Your Parenting Performance

Make parenting more fun for you and for the kids by simply letting them have the grading “clipboard” for a change. As in, let your kids grade your parenting performance —to what they deem is important to them.

Check out the fun parent grading chart below AND get ready to learn some interesting things about your parenting skills and performance from the eyes of your child.

15 Parenting Ideas You (Maybe) Never Thought Of

Click The Image to Download the Parenting Performance Guide

#9 It’s not all about the kids —All.of.the.Time

A healthy marriage builds a strong family unit. Start by letting your kids know that you value your role as a partner AND parent.

You can do this by not choosing between being a good parent and a good partner. Being intentional about working together to find the right balance will pay off in the long run for you, your marriage, and your family.

#10 Meet Other Parents That are in the Same Season of Life

Children are designed to take over —and leave you without much extra “you-time” and with what’s left of yourself. It’s all too easy to take shelter in being so-and-so’s mom, or so-and-so’s dad, losing who you were in the process.

But it’s never too late to make time for yourselves —and let’s be honest, it’s much more fun when you can share this time with other parents wading in the same trenches as you. Having friends is always a beautiful thing.

#11 Try “Family Game Night”

We love board games, card games, random obstacle courses, dance-offs, freeze dance, and much more. The kids love this time we spend together and it helps us unplug and to just belong in the moment together as a family.

We’ve also realized that game night helps keep everyone on the same page while learning some problem-solving skills. This is a huge parent win and it’s so much fun. Oh, the memories.

#12 Stop Being Overprotective

It’s so much easier said than done BUT it’s important to view yourself as a guide, not a protector.

Allow your kids to experience life, even when it’s scary to let go. You’ll give them the opportunity to gain confidence in their ability to deal with whatever life throws their way.

It’s hard to do and you might have some anxiety but you will thank yourself later.

#13 Try Not to Confuse Disciplining with Punishing

Punishing a child can make them feel like a bad person. Disciplining a child makes them realize that they made a bad decision.

It’s important to remember that discipline gives your child the confidence to make smarter and healthier choices in life, while punishment makes them believe that they’re incapable of doing any better.

#14 Cheer On the Good Stuff

Give positive reinforcement and accolades when your child does something kind, helpful, or nice. It’s a great way to acknowledge good behavior so they’re more likely to keep doing it.

The world can be so negative and hard on our kids, therefore, it’s good to promote positivity with any chance you get. Kids and families need it!

#15 Always Show Love and Say “I Love You”

People, us humans, need love to live a virtuous life —and this starts with raising our kids through (and with) love first and foremost. Show them, love, through intentional acts of kindness and with the words “I love you” every single day. Life is too short not to show it or say it.

Parenting can be hard at times but if you keep it simple, cheer each other on, let go a little bit, say “I love you”, and much more, you will find the beauty of its reward —while having some fun too!

What is the best parenting advice you’ve received?

 

2022-01-07T13:25:53+00:00

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