Do you feel parenting is hard? We believe the answer is YES. Parents want to understand our children and so are finding ways to be friends with your child. However, they are also afraid of not enforcing rules and standards.
In this article, we will discuss 6 simple but effective ways to be friends with your child.
How Do Parents And Children Be Friends?
Friendship is a relationship that involves mutual trust, support, and respect between two people or groups of people. It is a long-term relationship that can last for many years.
To be friends with someone means having fun with them, being kind to them, and doing things together. This could be going out for dinner or a movie, exercising or just watching TV.
So how does a “friendship” between parents and heir child work? Is it the same as other friendships?
First, let’s check out the many benefits of interacting and ways to be friends with your child.
- Children who recognize their parents as friends will have a long time to exchange and talk with their parents. The older they grow, the more they will realize the benefits of having their parent as a friend in their life.
- Children need the help of their parents to build their confidence. Communicating honestly is one of the best ways to be friends with your child.
- Parents will understand their children’s characters, interests, and thoughts.
- It is comfortable relationship for children to share their feelings, stories, and developments. Besides, parents also can control children’s behaviors and give them a lot of advice.
Being friends with your child means you can share your stories with them. However, your feelings or personal views should not affect your children ’s mental and emotional development.
For example, when you talk about financial worries, troubles you are facing or negative emotions, your child’s psyche will be strongly impacted. This could cause them undue stress and worry, especially if they are teenagers.
So what we want to emphasize is that you don’t have to share everything with your child. The friendship between parents and children is like the friendship between superiors and subordinates. They care, share and trust each other, but still have certain constraints and rules.
We believe that a true parent-child friendship is trust, companionship, sharing, and limits. These are the best ways to be friends with your child.
Top 6 Best Ways To Be Friends With Your Child
1. Be A Good Listener – Always Listen To Your Child’s Stories Actively
Today, in a busy life, parents have to spend 8-10 hours, sometimes 12 hours a day working. Meanwhile, the kids have to go to school, play and participate in other activities.
Family members are very busy so it is difficult for the child to find time to share stories with their parents.
One of the best ways to be friends with your child is to take the time to talk and listen to them. How was their day? Are they doing well at school? Do they have many friends? Parents can start the conversation with questions like these.
A good listener will always ask questions to make sure they understand what their child has said. Avoid interrupting or talking over them since this can be very frustrating for your child.
Asking too many questions is also not recommended. Ask just enough to understand what they’re trying to say and show them you are engaged.
Listen and be interested in your child’s stories as a way to be friends!
2. Encourage Expression As Ways To Be Friends With Your Child
Your child is unique, so encourage them to express themselves in their own way?
If your child likes social activities, encourage them to join clubs or groups to meet friends. Maybe your child does not have a high IQ but is very good at other skills such as painting, dance or music. It is very necessary to encourage them in these skills to gain confidence.
We know some parents really wish their children were academics and to like studying. However, this may not be true for them. Everyone is unique and has their own talents and skills, including children. A great way to be friends with your child is to allow them to express themselves in their own unique way.
Try to create conditions where your child is encouraged to be the best version of themselves. Do not force them with any unreasonable limits.
3. Give Your Child A Thoughtful Gift For The Holidays
Find a gift that they will enjoy. If you’re going to get your child something for the holidays, make sure it’s something he or she will use. Put some thought into what they may need and don’t leave it to the last minute. For example, if your kid is going back to school, these items are for you.
Some people say the best gifts are those that are personal in nature—things like ski gear for someone who loves skiing or Crocs for someone who loves being barefoot all the time!
If you are stuck for ideas, try these fantastic holiday gift ideas for kids.
4. Use Patience In Ways To Be Friends With Your Child
Children are different from adults in that they don’t always understand what is going on. Sometimes, they will need extra attention and help in decision-making.
Children are bound to make mistakes because either they don’t know any better or they are facing a new situation. Making mistakes is how kids learn!
What’s important here is how you react as a parent. To be friends with your child, you need to explain this point. Teach them that the only way to grow and learn is to try. If they fail or make a mistake, show them that by being patient and trying again they will learn valuable lessons.
Whatever you do, don’t yell at them. Talking calmly and quietly is the best method.
5. Respect Your Child’s Opinions And Interests
Talk to your kids about what they like and dislike to be friends with your child. As your children get older, they will form their own interests. These may be quite different to yours, so it is important to respect their decision – as long as it is not dangerous.
Letting your child know that you are listening to them is important.
Encourage them to grow up as independent people by praising their effort, rather than their ability or performance.
This will help build their self-confidence which will be helpful in the future when they are faced with challenges.
Talk to them about their dreams and goals in life. However, don’t force your own expectations onto them. Let them make decisions for themselves! Trusting children is the best way to earn their trust back again.
Listen carefully when they tell stories about school or friends. That way, if anything happens it won’t come as a surprise later.
6. Communication Ways To Be Friends With Your Child
There are many ways to be friends with your child, but one of the most important things you can do is talk. Communication is vital for building friendships, and this is especially true for parent-child relationships.
When a child feels comfortable talking to their parents about anything and everything, it helps them grow perfectly. It also makes it easier for parents to find out what their kids are thinking and feeling so they can better support them throughout the day.
The best way to engage in effective communication with your child is by establishing an open dialogue where both parties feel comfortable expressing themselves without fear or judgment. You should set aside time each week specifically dedicated to talking about topics that interest both of you (even if these topics don’t interest anyone else).
Conclusion
As a parent, there are many ways to be friends with your child. You know that communication is key in building a strong bond with your child, but sometimes it can be hard to find the time or know what to say.
With our helpful tips, we hope that you have found some new ideas to grow and strengthen the relationship between parent and child!
Our super author here at Famous Parenting and an absolute wealth of knowledge. She has studied many topics including creative writing, psychology and journalism but her real passion lies in raising her 3 children. Between working from home, homeschooling her youngest 2 children and navigating the world of teenagers she is a guru for parents.
