How to Build a Good Parent and Child Relationship

Teachers, friends and relatives are important to a child, but parents always play a key role in their life as they are the closest people. They should be loving and careful, because they are responsible for the future life of their children. It's common knowledge that reasons for many failures in our lives are connected to our childhood problems. A harmonic parent and child relationship helps bring up a confident and purposeful person and prevent such failures.

The Roles of Parents in a Child's Life

• Support and encouragement that prevent a child from feeling lonely and helpless
• Authority that helps control a child's life
• Role model
• Source of advice

The parent-child relationship should be based on love. You need to strive for achieving a happy medium. In other words, you should try to balance love and discipline. Don't be an overprotective parent otherwise your child will be too dependent on you even when he or she grows up. On the other hand, you should not withhold love, because your child will consider him or herself unworthy. Help and freedom are the main principles of parent love. It means that parents should instruct and bring up their child as well as provide freedom of choice and the opportunity to take responsibility for some aspects of their lives.

Parents should determine their roles in relationship with children clearly. Make sure that you are good at all the roles. For instance, keep your distance from your children not to become an ordinary friend for them, as it can lead to losing parental authority. It's not easy, because parents will have to control their own behavior as well.

The key principle of any relationship is respect. Children should appreciate their parents, but at the same time not forget about self-esteem. Many people forget that a child has a right to express themselves and their own point of view. Thus, he or she will grow up an independent person. Communicate with your child as equals. It doesn't mean that you have to use very difficult vocabulary or discuss economic problems. You should listen to your child and take him or her seriously instead.

Heart-to-heart conversations and compromise are integral parts of the parent-child relationship. Besides, there are other ways to improve your relationship, for example family rituals. Common “good morning” or “good night”, family lunch or dinner can strengthen your family ties.