5 Tips to Be a Positive Parent By Positive Living Speaker Diane Lang

Being a parent is the hardest job in the world. Parenting is a learned trait; be patient with yourself and set realistic expectations about parenting. It's OK to make mistakes. Your kids also learn a lot of their personality traits from you. One of the best ways to be a positive parent is by being a great role model. Make sure to live your best life so your children can follow suit. Here are five other tips to help you be a positive parent and encourage a strong sense of self in your child:

1. PLAY IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF A CHILD'S LIFE. As adults we need to appreciate the importance of play. Play helps foster creativity, problem solving, socialization, helps children develop their gross and fine motor skills and much more.

2. WHEN TALKING TO A CHILD, MAKE SURE TO HAVE EYE CONTACT AND TOUCH. Maintain open lines of communication with your child. This will help keep the communication going when they hit adolescence.

3. DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES ARE GENERALIZATIONS. Each child develops at their own pace and each child develops differently. Don't set yourself and your child up for failure by having unrealistic expectations about developing. Use the milestones as guidelines; they are not set in stone. You know your child the best. You can encourage a child, but never push or criticize them.

4. LEARN TO GIVE POSITIVE COMMANDS INSTEAD OF NEGATIVES. Each positive command will also include an action so it gives your child direction.

Examples:

You always leave your shoes in the hall and I trip over them - Negative

Please put your shoes in the closest -- Positive

Stop slamming the door! - Negative

Please close the door instead of slamming, I appreciate it -- Positive

5. ACTIVE AND EMPATHIC LISTENING -- It's important to always be a good listener. We teach kids through our actions so if you want your child to listen then you must be the role model and listen well. Active listening includes: summarizing what you heard, no interruptions, taking a few seconds to think about what you're going to say and asking questions. Empathic listening is just as important. To be an empathic listener, you must imagine putting yourself in the other person's shoes. This gives you the opportunity to imagine how the other person is feeling. This will stop a lot of misunderstandings and disagreements. If you become both an active and empathic listener you will have better relationships with your kids and everyone else in your life.