Parenting.

As a parent, are you controlling the shots, or are your children? Do things seem to always escalate in a discussion?

You need to sit a written test and go to several practical lessons to learn to drive a car, yet there are no ‘lessons’ given to become a parent. It’s just assumed we’ll learn the skills somewhere along the road of life. Unfortunately, this is unrealistic and we normally simply revert to what our parents did, or possibly the complete opposite.

Parenting issues can be varied, but there are some common elements to all of them. These include trust, negotiation and communication skills, quality time, love and nurture, boundaries, respect and anger management issues.

It’s a highly demanding role, one with many responsibilities. Help is available for you to develop skills that you currently haven’t yet mastered. The immediate and longer term mental and emotional health of your children is largely determined by your role in their life now. It’s not really something that should be left to chance now, is it?