How to Parent Little Boys

Being a parent is probably one of the hardest things you will ever do. It demands time and effort. It is the center of your life. Being a good parent is even harder. It demands more than just time and effort. Let’s look at some ideas for how to raise little girls.

Parenting girls is different from parenting boys. There are some basic principles and actions you take with boys, but since they are so different you also have to realize that they each have different needs. That is the first step in figuring out how to parent little girls. You need to recognize their needs and their wants that are different from boys. Little girls are into things like nail polish, make up, and princesses. They play dress up, watch princess movies, and like to help their mothers make dinner.

Girls love to be loved. They love cuddling with mom and dad while watching a movie or love to be hugged when they do something like do well in their ballet class. Because they love to be shown affection, show it to them. Hug them and tell them how much you love them. Don’t just do it when they have done something impressive, but do it when you are tucking them into bed, or when they get up in the morning. Let them know that you love them no matter what.

Little kids will be little kids and therefore love to get into things. When your daughter breaks something, let her know that you are upset, but that it’s ok. If it was something special or really important you might want to sit down and talk with her to let her know that what she did really hurt you. If it was something that wasn’t necessarily an accident, make a punishment for her. We all love our children more than anything, but punishing them isn’t a bad thing, as long as it done responsibly. Make the punishments reasonable. If your daughter broke something, explain that it cost money and so to help pay for it again, she will have to do a small chore like clearing the table after dinner every night that week or emptying the dishwasher for that week. Let her know that you aren’t mad, but because she did something wrong, she has to pay for her mistake. Don’t be harsh, just firm.

Disciplining your little girl teaches responsibility. It helps your child learn that doing bad things isn’t good, and that there are consequences for mistakes. At the same time, teach that doing something good gets rewarded. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you should give your daughter a present every time she finishes a ballet class, but something that is more rewarding, like congratulations from you or something you and your spouse work out. Giving presents all the time leads to your child being spoiled so try to stay away from giving presents all the time.

Teach your children that they can’t have everything in life. When your child asks for a toy when you’re at the store, tell them no, let them play with it only while you are in the store, then put it back, or if you have some money set aside for toys, tell them how much they can spend on a toy and let them pick out something themselves. By letting them pick out a toy themselves you will be teaching them that money doesn’t grow on trees and there is a budget for them. They will be getting the freedom to choose what they want and you will be happy knowing that you aren’t spoiling your daughter. Showing your daughter that you respect her is one of the most important things that you can do as a parent.