Good Parenting Skills That Will Benefit Your Family

By developing, nurturing, and using good parenting skills, you can benefit your entire family. Parenting is a process that flows, sometimes smoothly, sometimes turbulently, but always in one general direction: forward. When you navigate your journey with good parenting skills, you and your family will stay on track despite the inevitable obstacles that disrupt your calm flow.

Parenting can be hard, even overwhelming, and it’s common to wonder what good parenting skills are. Good parenting that benefits your family involves different types of skills. Parenting traits are characteristics you have and can develop. Good parenting involves drawing from certain traits to help your child, and the whole family, grow. In addition to possessing traits, parents use actions, doing certain things to foster healthy growth and a positive family atmosphere.

This exploration of good parenting skills—traits and actions—can help you keep your family flowing smoothly forward.

Good Parenting Skills: Parental Traits That Will Benefit Your Family

One of the most important traits that parents can develop and use is the ability to think of the long-term, big picture. Rather than getting stuck in the day-to-day struggles and stressors, when parents keep the big picture in mind, the whole family thrives. Develop a vision and purpose for yourself as a parent and for your family. What goals do you have for raising your kids? How do you want your kids to be as they grow? As adults? Having a sense of your greater plan and values will keep your family moving in a unified direction.

Good parenting traits also include the knowledge that no one is perfect, including both you as a parent and your kids. Beyond simply knowing that they’re not perfect, parents with this trait admit it. They’re willing to apologize when they need to. This is great modeling, showing kids that they don’t have to be perfect and teaching them to ask for and give forgiveness ("Recovering from Parenting Fails").

Having high standards helps parents guide kids in the direction they’ve identified as important. Children will rise or fall to expectations; when parents communicate that they believe in their kids, kids come to believe in themselves. That said, it’s important that parenting expectations be realistic. Rigid, demanding expectations are dangerous because they create pressure, stress, and anxiety, and they set children up for failure. Your family needs high expectations but not unworkable ones.

Parents who use good parenting skills are present in their children’s lives. They’re an active part of the family, and they interact with them. They are willing to be on their kids’ level, playing with them, helping them problem-solve (without solving the problems), and more. Creating opportunities for fun and laughter is mentally healthy and helps you bond as a family. Your presence is vital to a thriving family.

Another important parenting trait is having unconditional positive regard for your kids. This means that you love them. Always. No matter what. Disciplining is part of that love. As a parent, you teach and shape your children with rules, logical consequences, and always loving who your kids are (even if you don’t love what they’ve done in a given moment).

These traits are in integral part of good parenting skills that benefit your family. In addition to traits are actions.

Good Parenting Skills: Things You Do That Benefit Your Family

A parent's actions reinforce their parenting traits and goals for their kids. Some of the best things parents can do include:

• Communicating openly, both talking and listening deeply
• Disciplining firmly and consistently; gently and never spanking ("Do You Really Know How to Discipline Your Child?")
• Guiding and supporting; not pushing and demanding
• Showing rather than telling; demonstrating positive attitudes, handling difficulties, practicing self-care, and other aspects of living well.
• Showing love and affection every day
• Spending dedicated family time together as well as giving each child one-on-one attention

Parents’ traits and actions instill character. In a family where everyone benefits from good parenting, kids and adults alike possess and develop life skills such as cooperation, empathy, kindness, honesty, independence, self-control, and motivation to succeed.

Additionally, kids and adults develop protective factors against mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, substance use, and antisocial behavior. Good parenting skills, including traits and actions, benefit the whole family, helping everyone flow in a forward direction and boosting mental health and wellbeing for life success.

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