What makes a good parent?

’Wealth is easy to find, if you know where to look’

Family Fortunes

Next month, my daughter will be 3,5 and in August my son will turn 2. The joy these children give me can not be described in a simple blog. If you’ve followed my posts/whinging over the past several months, you know that I’ve gone through a difficult time, but the one thing that has kept me going throughout this period is the love and joy I get from being with my children.

_{We don't have to be Rockefellers to be fortunate. Image Source: telegraph.co.uk}

As a full-time working parent, making time for your children is something that doesn’t come easy to me. When I get home after work we usually have dinner straight away, at this time the kids are so tired that it’s not always easy for them to behave on the table. This can manifest itself by them not wanting to come to the table, they don’t (fully) eat what they’re given and in the worst case they start crying about the simplest bit of ’criticism’ (if you can call it that). An example of such a situation is when I tell my son he needs to eat with his fork and when he continues to eat with his hands; I then remind him he should use his fork and he starts to cry.

When we’re done with dinner we start the bedtime ritual and depending on how the kids have been behaving this can take between 30 and 45 minutes.

The only quality time I have with my kids is on the weekends and on the days when I pick them up from daycare until my wife comes home and we have dinner. However it’s these moments I cherish the most … if I make the effort to do something with them.

_{Image Source: someecards.com}

Why is it that I sometimes have to ‘force’ myself to do something with my kids? I think many parents will agree with me on this, these are the most beautiful times. When you do something with your children they completely go along and accept it. You can tell them storeis, do puzzles or do some handywork with them, whatever it is, they go along and they enjoy the fact that you’re doing something with them. From a parents’ perspective, children have a lot of energy and sometimes it gets too much for me. It’s fun, it’s sweet, but it’s also tiring. I even noticed myself doing things that can wait, just so that I wouldn’t have to spend time with my children.

Over the last period I changed this behaviour, in this period I need positivity, I need joy and most of all I need my family as they’re the biggest source of positivity, fun, joy and happiness. A hug from my daughter or a smile from my son can give me so much more than a little compliment from a colleague or a thank you from a friend. There is nothing in the world that can replace this. If you’re a parent yourself, I’m sure you can empathise with what I’m saying and if you’re not a parent (yet), there is no better argument for starting with your family expansion plans!

However you’re feeling, if you make the time to spend with your family you will feel better afterwards and this time pays itself back a thousand fold.

Do you want to continue the conversation?

I hope you considered this post to be useful and interesting. Feel free to share your experiences with me either below or privately on discord (wolfje#6587). If you want to read my previous posts on What makes a good parent?', here are the links:

1. What is a sign that you're doing it well?
2. Jealousy
3. How do I discipline my child?
4. Selfcontrol/Stresscontrol

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Keep running and stay fit!

🐺je