Four Ways to Care for Your Children Better

When you have children, you want to give them the world. Children can be the most important things in your life, but caring for them is rarely easy. There's no one definitive book or guide on how to properly raise your children, and you want to make sure you care for them so that they grow up into successful, well-adjusted adults.

Children, like adults, have rights that others should observe. Often, children don't fully understand these rights because so much of their life is controlled by adults. Educating your children on their right to control their own bodies and boundaries can often save them from harm in the future.

Teaching children the difference between rights and privileges is important, and can be combined with the lesson that privileges are earned. Children will be happy learning that positive behavior can be rewarded with things extra coloring time, a day at the movies, or even a pair of fun socks.

Parents are sometimes afraid to praise their children's accomplishments too much because they don't want their children to grow up conceited, egotistical or rude. In reality, however, constructive praise can be good for children's development.

When you praise your children for making good choices, they're more likely to make those good choices again in future. Validation, too, will help shape your children's internal monologues, allowing them to encourage themselves and lessening chances of conditions like anxiety and depression as they age.

It can be tempting to want to be your children's best friend by letting them do what they want, minimizing rules to maximize fun. Children are just starting to grow and develop, though, and giving them a set of rules and a sense of structure allows them to feel safe and supported as they explore an unfamiliar world.

Your children will be able to use your rules to understand and safely navigate situations they've never been in before. Setting boundaries will demonstrate that you're looking out for your children's safety and make them comfortable with setting their own boundaries in the future, even if it frustrates them in the present.

In our modern world, it can be easy to let television, computers and smartphones parent for you. Despite this, it's very important to give children time to play in and experience nature. Sending your children outside, or going outside with them, provides them with fresh air and exercise which can help in their development and boost their mood.

Outdoor exposure can be achieved through a number of different means: you can send your children out to play in the backyard or you can take them on a hike in the woods. Exposure to different outdoor settings will facilitate an appreciation for the natural world.

Plants, both in nature and in the home, provide an additional sense of positivity and optimism. Keeping plants in the house and keeping your children outside as much as possible can prevent depression and anxiety and lead to happier children overall.

Changing how you think about caring for your children can help them have more constructive experiences and opportunities growing up, leading to them developing into well-rounded, happy adults. You want to give your children the world, so put in the work to make sure that their world is positive, encouraging and a fun, safe place to grow up.