Positive Parenting Techniques - An Approach to Raise a Better Generation

Introduction

Parents play an important role in the child’s life, a role that is not limited to nurturing, protecting, and guiding. Most couples fare well as parents. However, at some point in time, it can be confusing and frustrating due to the enormous amount of energy and challenges it gives. The process of parenting helps the child to face the challenges they might have to face in their tomorrow and paves the way for independence.

What Is Positive Parenting?

Positive parenting is a psychological approach to parenting that focuses on nurturing good behavior rather than punishing children for their bad behavior. This type of parenting stresses the fact that there are no good or bad children; rather, various children have different kinds of needs or requirements. Studies show that children behave and act in healthy ways when they are encouraged or feel appreciated. Hence, parents inadvertently encourage these types of behaviors when they figure out how to nurture these emotions in their children. Children are able to understand better what is right and wrong when they feel loved, secure, and connected. This keeps them internally motivated to behave better every time. Some methods that parents can use to keep their children motivated can include:

• Making one’s expectations clear to the child.

• Consistent and reliable parenting.

• Shower love and appreciation.

• Try to understand why children behave the way they do.

• Promote curiosity, independence, and personal development.

What Does Research Say on Positive Parenting?

A number of research studies have been done on the long-term and short-term impacts of positive parenting and how children’s behavior changes over time. A study by the Positive Parenting Research Team (PPRT) from the University of Southern Mississippi (Nicholson, 2019) researched the following topics on positive parenting:

• The role of positive parenting in a child’s academic performance.

• The relationship between positive parenting and protective behavioral strategies.

• The links between positive parenting and emotional health.

The study encouraged positive parenting in families based on its results. Another research examined the role of supportive parenting on children before kindergarten. Supportive parenting includes the love and warmth between mother and child, proactive instruction, inductive punishment, and positive involvement of the child in various daily chores. These children were found to be more adjustive in school, which created fewer behavioral problems. In addition, studies show that supportive parenting, in fact, reduces the negative impact of risk factors in the family. This could include financial strain, stress within the family, and single parenthood, among the behavioral issues that could be developed by these children later in life.

Is Positive Parenting Effective?

The studies show that positive parenting yields amazing results. They were far beyond comprehension! Even behaviors that were difficult to manage with counseling sessions produced wonderful results with positive parenting. A few benefits include:

• Fewer unacceptable behaviors.

• Lower chance of depression in childhood.

• Promotes the overall development of the child.

• Helps the child to regulate their emotions and behave accordingly.

• Enhances cognitive, social, and emotional skills.

• Promotes self-esteem, independence, creativity, and motivation from within.

• Minimizes the disadvantages of socio-economic constraints of the family the child was brought up with.

• Sets up children to have successful careers later in life.

• Manages a teenager's brain better.

• Paves the way for a happy and healthy adulthood.

How to Put Positive Parenting in Action?

Research encourages positive parenting based on their outcomes and prosocial benefits. There are five positive parenting techniques that can be easily implemented in daily life. It has also been proven to be successful in developing a child’s social life. It is abbreviated as a single word, “PRIDE”. They include:

1. Praise: Everyone feels good to be praised and appreciated for their efforts. Children are no less. What parents often tell their children becomes their inner voice and has the ability to make or break them. Self-esteem and confidence in themselves are boosted when a child is praised. Parents must remember to be specific in their praise, as young children might not be able to understand why they are being praised. This helps them to repeat that accomplishment again. It does not always need to be a ‘big’ achievement. Even a small gesture or a baby step, when appreciated, helps them to achieve miles gradually. The effort that the child makes should be noticed and appreciated. Praise can be verbal or physical, like a pat on the back, a hug, a kiss, or even a high-five.

2. Reflection: This means repeating the child’s words back to themselves. This makes the child understand that they are being heard or understood. This rewards the child for their speaking. As a result, the child is encouraged to make open and thoughtful comments or promote healthy conversations frequently. Reflections are more effective than questioning a child to get them talking.

3. Imitation: This refers to playing in a way similar to the child, making the same gesture they do, and recreating their actions. It flatters the child and sends a message that what they are interested in, and they are appreciated for being repeated. It is a way of reaching a child’s level of understanding and helps them to grasp it better.

4. Description: This involves describing what the child is doing. It helps the child understand that they are getting undivided attention, and the parents are interested in knowing what the child is doing. This boosts their self-esteem. It helps the child to focus more and encourages them to learn new words and concepts like shapes, colors, sizes, and numbers. It could be a great way to get them to do their homework.

5. Enjoyment: It means to express love, warmth, and encouragement while involved in their play and interaction. It helps the child to pick up and imitate the emotions of other people. Showing enjoyment can be done by smiling, hugging, kissing, making eye contact, rubbing or patting the child’s back, etc.

‘PRIDE’ skills can help children wave off unacceptable behavior. Catching the child doing something good and appreciating them, instead of punishing the child for a wrong behavior, is practiced through this. When the child is encouraged to behave well, they understand what needs to be done and what should not. It increases the probability that the child will repeat the good actions or behavior to be recognized.

Conclusion

In this busy world, parenting is often challenging. It is often even more difficult to raise good or responsible children. Spending quality time with the child always does wonders in the long run. It helps the parents to bond better, which, in turn, helps them to know the child better. Knowing the child better helps them to deal with their tantrums better.