Working together - Team Work as a Parenting Skill
Working together - Team Work as a Parenting Skill by
Dr. Noel Swanson.Kids learn from example; and if you can involve your children in the household activities, you gain on several counts: they share your burden of work; they get your time and attention; and they learn to work as a team. The best parenting advice is to work together in raising your children and establishing child discipline. Children are children; and whether they are your own or your spouse’s kids from a previous relationship, it is the duty of the two people who make up their parents to work together to form their children's discipline plan.
Children are experts in manipulating situations to their advantage. They know that if they can’t get something from one parent, they can always turn to the other. This not only creates unnecessary misunderstanding between the parents but also teaches the children to be opportunists. They get wrong ideas and learn to use unfair means to get their way. This can be avoided through team work.
It is very important for parents to work together for the welfare and stability of a home. Working together is a valuable parenting skill that parents must learn and practice. The first thing you as parents should do is to sit down and have a meeting, and work out a system that works for you.
If necessary, equally separate the subjects that a parent will decide on. For example, one parent handles outdoor activities while the other handles indoor activities. This will prevent the child or children from being able to play one parent against the other.
Remember, children should see their parents as one unit working together in harmony. They must know that they have to seek the approval of both parents in each situation. This arrangement works very well where both parents are available.
Once you have decided about the methods to be used, you need to agree on the rules and steps to follow. Once you've decided, then go to your children and explain the situation.
Letting your children know that you work together as a team is important. If they are old enough to understand the situation, it will work to deter future parent playing. If they are not old enough to understand, establishing this routine and foundation of parenting will prevent parent playing from occurring.
More than just parent playing is at stake when parents need to work together. Parenting decisions aren't just limited to going to the park or watching TV. They also include what type and kind of education? Which religion or faith a child should be brought up in? What type of child disciplinary measures should be taken? All of these questions and more need to be addressed. So that all parents are on the same page on what they want or think for their children's behavior and child discipline needs.
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