What Are Traits of Good Parents? Essay Example

Individuals are all different, yet when it comes to parenting, good parents have several characteristics in common. Even though I am not a parent, my personal observations, experiences, and knowledge, inform me about what it takes to be one.

Most good parents spend quality time with their children. If the children are young, this means doing things with them like reading books and playing outside together. As the children grow, this means going to their ball games and recitals and promoting them in all worthwhile interests. When the children are older, it means communicating with them about important issues like driving a car and dating. Good parents do not stop being parents when their children grow up and move out on their own. Then, good parenting means that they know how to make the transition from being a parent to being a parent-friend.

Another good parent characteristic is consistency. Children want and need boundaries. Good parents know how to establish and maintain boundaries of behavior with their children. They know that they must mean what they say and must do what they say in order to earn the respect of their children. Children, in turn, learn to negotiate their personal decisions using consistent parental expectations as a gentle, nurturing barometer.

I see parents interact with their sons and daughters, and I marvel at how some of them are so casual and seemingly in control as they interact with each other. I see other parents who appear to be mad at their children, yelling, frowning, and making threats as they go. The best parents seem to be relaxed, or at least not stressed out by their children.

As a child of good parents, I feel blessed. My mother and father have always been there for me, supporting me in whatever I have wanted to pursue; therefore, my experiences as a child of loving parents will assist me to parent in a good way, should I ever be fortunate to have a child of my own.

Parents do not have to have all of the answers. Much of their best work is through trial and error. They know that what works with one child might not necessarily work with another. I also have noticed that there are those who are not “parents,” technically, that do a great amount of parenting and do it well.

Being a parent must be a hard job. It is one of those 24/7 kinds of jobs that is accompanied by tons of responsibilities and does not pay a dime. All my life I have heard that most any person can create a child, meaning to cause it biologically to come into the world, but it takes a special kind of person to be a true parent. I would agree.