When you live in gratefulness, you appreciate more what you have. When you appreciate more what you have, you are a better parent, a better spouse a better citizen. When you are grateful your family enjoys you more and you them. You will find the only real way to peace.

Good parenting skills begin with the idea of gratefulness and leads to what makes a good parent. Next, gratefulness needs to be expressed as greater acknowledgement of others. Thanking your spouse for being there for you, not just as a concept, but in practical things. Thanking your spouse for cooking and cleaning, for going to work, for loving you is critical. Thanking your kids for doing well in school or doing their chores without too much a fuss is critical. Being grateful is a key ingredient in parenting skills and what makes a good parent when the kids aren’t doing well. It doesn’t mean don’t set rules or punish. It means explaining better what the rules are and why you have them so they can learn.

Be grateful today for your family and your life.

Good luck,

Dr. Bocknek
Dr. Robert Bocknek is the problem solving expert for marriage, parents and families at www.takebackthehome.com and www.keyboard-culture-parenting.com. He can be reached at bocknek@takebackthehome.com. He is author of the “Take Back the Home course” and the “Learning how to Learn course” which can be seen at www.takebackthehome.com.

Let’s start with why you became a family in the first place. Parenting skills and what makes a good parent is all about keeping an eye on the prize. What is the prize? It is recognizing, through all the craziness that is going on all around you, that you are truly lucky, fortunate and blessed to have a family. For this conversation, let’s visualize the last statement to only include your nuclear family. If your bigger family isn’t a huge challenge for you, you can also include your parents and in-laws and cousins.

In parenting skills, marriage skills and what makes a good parent what starts the road to happiness starts with remembering back to when you were alone and you wanted to have someone in your life who was in this life with you. Whether you knew it or not you were searching for that partner. Now, you have it. It may not seem all you wanted it to be but that is just because you and your partners, (your spouse and kids), forget sometimes about the fortunate situation you have, namely having each other.

It is critical, when dealing with parenting skills, what makes a good parent and spouse is twofold. The first, is to acknowledge others in the family for being there with you. Simple things like thanking the kids for doing their chores or cleaning their room like they are supposed to do, is that kind of acknowledgement. Being excited, authentically when your spouse comes home is that kind of acknowledgement. The second part is to be thankful that G-d gave you these blessings, namely your family. If everyone is healthy, be thankful for that. If there are health issues, be thankful for the time you have.

Parenting skills and what makes a good parent action steps:

1. Greet family members with a hug when they come home, always or as often as possible.
2. Have as many family meals together as often as possible. No complaining here, just enjoyment and courtesy
3. Speak to other family members how lucky you feel for what you have. There is always something to be thankful for. Remember you have them and they have you
4. Everyone helps with chores in the house, so it is a team effort.

Good luck,

Dr. Bocknek

Dr. Robert Bocknek is the problem solving expert for marriage, parents and families at www.takebackthehome.com and www.keyboard-culture-parenting.com. He can be reached at bocknek@takebackthehome.com. He is author of the “Take Back the Home course” and the “Learning how to Learn course” which can be seen at www.takebackthehome.com.