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New Years Resolutions for parents should be a fairly simple process. It seems that every time the process begins and then the focus slips to parents making resolutions for their children. So lets work together to come up with a wide variety of parent resolutions to choose from and return the focus back on parents.

~ Listen more than you speak
This is easy to write, but very hard to put into practice. Here are some helpful hints. Don't interrupt a child when the child is speaking. Don't finish sentence for a child, give them the time to do it themselves. Do let them tell you the same things over and over. It must be important to them. Do ask them what they think. Do let them come up with ideas and help them follow through with them. Listen.

~ Practice patience
Really practice, don't let the body signals give you away. Learn the art of waiting, learning, explaining and doing it all over again, as many times as needed.

~ I've got your back
Parent as a team and show the family that you stick together. Don't let a child divide and conquer. Always let the other parent know - you've got their back. Agree on how to raise, praise and discipline the children. Parenting is a team event, even if the parents don't live in the same home, the children must come first.

~ Don't speak in anger
Really, put yourself in time out until the anger is gone. Let the child know that you are too angry to be rational and are not able to speak at all. It will have to come later.

~ One-on-One time with each child
Make sure each parents has on-one-one time with each child every week. Every day must does not seem attainable in most situations. What the parent and child do together is not as important as the fact that it is just the two of them. Turn off the cell phone and spend at least 30 minutes of alone time with each of your children. It will be something that will never be a regret.

~Be a better spouse
Parenting is a hard job. In order to be a great parents other things have to be working well in life. So part of being a great parent may be giving each other the courage and strength to take on the job. Make sure the bond is strong between the two of you. Make a resolution to be a better spouse and companion.

~ Learn a new skill from your child
Many amazing things happen when a child is able to share and teach. Everyone involved in enlightened and learns. So, have your child share their knowledge and teach you something. If she is two and wants to teach you to stir, learn how. If she is 13 and wants to teach you to text (bless you), learn how.

~ Laugh, a lot.

Learn more about this author, Trenna Sue Hiler.
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