Like many relationships, friendship is
an important part of a healthy parent-child bond. Parents should be loving, understanding and friendly with
their kids, but at the same time, maintain the right levels of respect.
Moreover, you must realize that the nature of your friendship with your two-year-old child will be different
than that with your 10-year-old. It is important to understand that the age and maturity of each child
dictates the way you approach friendship with your children.
You cannot become your children's friend in a day; rather, you have to start it early, from their childhood.
Whatever you instill in your children right initially will last throughout their lifetime. The first thing
you need to have is effective communication with your children.
Listening to your children is just as important as talking to them. You can talk to them about school,
friends, cartoons or their favourite sports, just to name a few. While you should be present to assist with
problem-solving, do not resolve things for them on your own; this common parental fault encourages
overdependence in the child.
Moreover, you can play with them, go on holidays as a family or do things to spend time together. While love,
care and attention are necessary do not overdo it, as over-pampering will only make them stubborn,
disrespectful and demanding.
In addition, do not give in to unreasonable demands. Rather, try to explain to them why their demand was
denied — for example, how it could be harmful for them. You need to provide them with sufficient reasoning so
as not to leave any questions unanswered and avoid similar demands in the future.
While communicating with your child, exercise patience — children are quite inquisitive by nature and will
have countless questions about the world around them. Being open and friendly will help your children develop
trust in you, which will encourage open communication in the future.
A common mistake that most parents make while trying to befriend their children is that they forget their
responsibility as a guardian. One can be a friend to their children even while performing their parental
duty.
Parents must command respect from their children, be able to set rules in the house and have the final
decision-making power. You need to strike a balance between being a friend and being a parent to your
child.
Like every relationship, you need to develop a strong foundation and nurture it with love and care. Moreover,
a little effort on your part to build a strong understanding and better communication with your child can
help you to be a responsible parent and a friend to your child.
Photo courtesy of sxc / hortongrou