Being A Parent Of Yourself: Show Your Children That You Respect Yourself First

by Conscious Reminder

Art by: Andre Ajibade

If you are a parent, you’d be familiar with the countless manuals and books which tell you the dos and don’ts of how to bring up your child.

Even before them, the wisdom of good parenting was passed on from generation to generation. We all know the importance of good upbringing for the overall personality development, and holistic growth of a child.

If these things are not paid attention to during the early years if a child’s growth, he or she will grow to be a stunted adult and might have to face many problems later in life.

So what is this good parenting that one talks of? You have to pay attention to your child. We need to love our children unconditionally, of course. And yet we have to be firm with them when they are in the wrong.

Loving them shouldn’t come in the way of teaching them right from wrong. We have to be the one who celebrates their achievements, big or small.

We have to encourage them to do better and learn better. Parents are the ones who impart them with the morals and social skills which are required to survive in the world.

Every generation of parents follow these duties. But there is one duty that most of us forget. And this duty is towards ourselves.

We are ready to shower our children with endless Love and support, as is their due. But when it comes to ourselves, we forget to love and support ourselves. We let others walk all over us. We scold ourselves for our shortcomings.

We never stop to praise the strengths that we have. We let others opinion of us define us. When we cannot stand another kid bullying our child, why do we let another human bully us.

We need to set healthy boundaries with respect to other people. And if we won’t safeguard our mental health, who else will?

Think of being your own parent for once. Love yourself, praise yourself and protect yourself when needed. This doesn’t mean that you are being selfish. This is a much needed positive emotion that all of us need to cultivate.

At the end of the day, we have to be the ones who take care of us against the outside world. Be your own champion.

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