Sanya Goel
Parents would always work for the best interest of their child unlike peers. Children will be inclined to get fascinated in the above listed activities whether parents are aware of it or not. But if parents are the best friends of their children, they will be aware of child’s every move and the child will develop a level of trust with them. Such a relationship with the child will make him/her more open and he/she will see the parents as their first point of contact for any concerns, fears, problems etc.
So, in order to become child’s best friend, the parents need to develop a bond with child and make them understand that they have their freedom of making decisions in life but at the same time they have someone whom they can count on if there is any problem. The parents need to give their child some space and let them make their own decisions. This sometimes leads to children making mistakes but always make sure you are aware of what they are into. Monitoring the children from a distance is a way to make them independent and at the same time to be in control of them.
Strategies that can be beneficial to be a child’s best friend:
- Spend a lot of time with children, especially doing activities with them as they enjoy it thoroughly. These activities can be sports, a hobby, shopping, music, or anything else.
- Talk with them about different children issues so that they feel that the parents understand them. The issues can be anything related to attraction with opposite sex, sex education, menstruation, peer pressure, stress etc.
- The parents must always answer questions raised by children, as they tend to become very curious. Even if it’s an uncomfortable topic for you, ensure that it atleast answers them for that time being.
- Give them freedom to make their choices and decisions in life with a distant monitoring.
- Strictly don’t scold the child on petty issues, always talk to them and make them understand where they went wrong rather than hitting or screaming on them.
- Support the kids in public and correct them in private.
- Do not unnecessarily snoop into the child’s matters. Give them appropriate space and let them come to you in case they need support.
Keeping these pointers in mind, the parents can improve their relationship with the child and develop a stronger bond with them. Becoming the child’s best friend is a slow and gradual process and should be started from the very beginning.
It takes time and patience but at the end of the day this will develop a stronger and better bond within the parent-child relationship.
