Parenthood

It is the state of being a parent. Traditionally, it means being a father or mother of your biological child. When adoption is involved, It means the legal father or mother (or couple) of the child. Parenthood is the state of being the person who begets, gives birth to or takes care and raises a child. Such a person is referred to as a parent and it is from the word parent that terms like parenthood and parenting are derived from.

Parenting
We define parenting as the skills, experiences, abilities, and responsibilities involved in rearing and educating a child. It is the will and the ability of parents to respond to the needs and aspira-tions of family and children.

Responsible Parenting
Is defined as the series of decisions couples make to ensure the best possible life for the family and for the community they belong to.

1. Give your child love Your number one job as a parent is to give your child love. Children need love, so that they know what it feels like and what to look for and so that they can build self-confidence, selfesteem, self-value and self-love. Your love should form the primary bond between parent and child. If you fail at everything else that parenting entails, this is the one savin g grace that could keep you from being a total disaster as a parent. Children can forgive a lot of shortcomings and a lot of mistakes, but if you dont show them real love, then you have no business being a parent and youre your children will probably nev er forgive you for being what you should never have been.

2. Make your child a good and moral person Whether schools fulfill this fundamental obligation or not, the morality of your children depends on you. Your children should develop into good moral people and keeping them on that path is your job. You must teach them. You have to explain, punish at tim es and always support and encourage. If you arent sure, which morals your child should be learning, Always remember to teach them good values and right conduct. And lastly, at the young age, teach them how to pray and believe in God.

3. Protect your child Dont let any physical or psychological harm come to your children. If that means you have to throw yourself in front of a car, or a rabid dog, or a bus, then do it. You are the past. Your child is the future and should be all the best parts of you. If you want to live forever, leaving children behind as your legacy is one of the few ways to do it. Note also, that there must be limits to your protection. There are times and situations when you must let your children fend for themselves, in order to allow them to grow properly. The world is full of children who have been utterly ruined by overprotective parents. No matter how worried you are about your child hurting themselves, youre going to have to let them go climb trees at some point.

4. Educate your child

Yes, schools exist to teach your children and many of them are free, but no, thats not the be all and end all of their educational experience. Children spend more time outside of school and learn more in the real world. The experiences they have with family, friend and whoever they select as role-models will have a profound effect on them. Its your obligation as a parent to answer your childrens questions, teach them how to fend for themselves and share your acquired wisdom.

5. Discipline your child

No matter how much you love your child and no matter how wonderful they are most of the time, there will be times that you need to say no, firmly and when they dont obey, youre going to need to discipline them. The form of that discipline is up to you, a time out, removal of their favorite toy, grounding, spanking, a lecture, loss of allowance, dinner without dessert, or going to bed without dinner, but the point is, it must be done. You need to help your child feel like they can accomplish anything, but at the same time, you need to set limits for them and make sure they understand and respect those limits and that those limits are enforced. Both parents, if there are two, must work together to enforce the same rules. Having one parent who enforces the rules and one who doesnt, confuses children and allows them to set parents against each other, while allowing a child what may be an unhealthy sense of flexibility.

SUBMITTED BY: RENZ FROILAN DOMINGO IV-EINSTEIN