21 Parenting

If you’re a parent, you get plenty of suggestions on how to raise your child. From experts to other parents, people are always ready to offer advice. Parenting tips, parents’ survival guides, dos, don’ts, shoulds and shouldn’ts—new ones come out daily.

The truth is there is more than one “right” way to be a good parent. Good parenting includes

• Keeping your child safe
• Showing affection and listening to your child
• Providing order and consistency
• Setting and enforcing limits
• Spending time with your child
• Monitoring your child’s friendships and activities
• Leading by example

There are many different kinds of families. Some have two parents, while others have a single parent. Sometimes there is no parent and grandparents raise grandchildren. Some children live in foster families, adoptive families, or in stepfamilies.

Families are much more than groups of people who share the same genes or the same address. They should be a source of support and encouragement. This does not mean that everyone gets along all the time. Conflicts are a part of family life. Many issues can lead to conflict, such as illness, disability, addiction, job loss, school difficulties and marital problems. Listening to each other and working to resolve conflicts are important in strengthening the family.