Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/a-manner-of-speaking/5022188/
Watching my children parent is one of my favorite activities. It’s like reality television with emotion. What an experience to stand by as scenarios unfold and observe the interactions with such knowledge and love of the adults involved and such profound feelings for the children.What are the most important traits of a strong parent? This question came up in recent discussions among the World Forum Foundation National Representatives. Eman Gaad, WFF National Representative from Dubai, provokes thinking with her response. “In my view a strong parent needs to be:
• literate. Education is key to strength.
• flexible and open to ideas, as that transfers to the child. Flexibility and tolerance help the child to adapt and accept others. Therefore, the world would be a better place for new generations.
• appreciative of the child’s voice from an early age. This encourages the child to have and express his or her voice.”
Based on my experiences as a parent cheerleading the parenting of my own children, observing parenting in action in grocery stores, parks and beaches, playgrounds, malls, and neighborhoods, and continuing to analyze my own parenting �" past and present, I offer these characteristics of strong parents for discussion:
• a strong parent is ...