Our Valley Santa Clarita September/October 2016 | Page 22

Parenting

Y

Parenting Tips
to Keep in Mind

ou get all sorts of parenting advice from many
resources, which makes
it difficult to know which
ones are the best to follow. Here
are some of my tips that will surely
help you when your green hair
starts coming out.
1. Let your kids fail.
To learn self-sufficiency, kids need
to occasionally dust themselves
off (literally and figuratively) without your help. Although most parents know their child’s capability
to be self sufficient, they have the
need to feel “needed” or just want
to make things easier for their children. But keep in mind that the
long-term benefits—a teenager
who knows how to do her own

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By Patty Canton

laundry, for example—trump momentary discomfort for you the
parent.
2. Abide by the three rules of
homework.
Rule number one: That’s short for
“Do the hardest thing first.”
Rule number two: Put away all
electronics (unless your kid does
online work).
Rule number three: As soon as assignments are finished, load up
the backpack for the following
day and place it by the door.
Kids can easily remember and follow these 3 simple rules and thus
avoid the nagging that inevitably
comes from you!
3. Plan not-so-random acts of
kindness.

Kids need to know that helping
others is an everyday practice.
Challenge your kids to complete
small tasks every week, like picking up trash at school or helping a
senior with her groceries. Training
your children to focus on others
helps curb entitlement.
4. Keep bedtime strict.
Consistency at bedtime reduces
behavioral problems. Set up a
steady bedtime routine for your
kids. Having a routine for children
is important for a stable environment. And for teens, getting 8
hours of sleep daily will help them
to have productive days upon
awaking.
Catch us on our next issue for
more useful and practical parenting tips.