How do I raise my daughter right?

@SilPhil (267)
Australia
March 29, 2007 2:32am CST
My daughter is only 6 months old, so I know I have a long way to go. But I'm terrified that she's going to turn bad, disrespect authority, herself, and things like that. I don't want her to turn into a bad kid, but you see so many of them around these days. What can I do to prevent this from happening? Is a lot of the kids problems due to absent parenting? I'm terrified I'm ruining things for her because I work and so I'm not with her 24/7. But then kids turn out alright after being in daycare? The centre she is going to is fantastic, they take excellent care of her and she loves it. I just want some help and tips. What has worked for you guys? How did you keep your kids on the straight and narrow? Anything to give me some peace of mind?
2 people like this
15 responses
• United States
29 Mar 07
Well, I have a daughter who is now going to be 15 months on the fiths of April. So far she is a good girl. She does pick up bad habbits from other kids, but mostly from our own home. So be cautious of what you do and say around her because before you know it she will be saying things you say. My husband had said shut up a lot to his friends, well she recently told me to shut up in front of my dad. My dad looked at me and said I never hear you saying shut up, where did she get that from? Well of course my husband said oops thats me. So training and diciplining in the home has most impact on how they act on the outside of the home. You train them inside and take them outside and hope that they have learned. If you dont dicipline, dont expect any results. You see you may think she is too young to know any better, well at least I thought that way when my daughter was that age. Turns out she knew exactly what she was doing. There are certain items that are breakable or not to touch, well we would slap her hand and tell her no. Well needless to say she would look at us and she would go touch or pick up an item and say no. She knew it was not to be grabed and she did it anyways while looking at us. Man we had a rude awakining. Well some people dont live their lifes according to the Bible, but we do. The Bible says to dicipline with a rod iron, well we dont go to that extreme, but we do use a switch which is a tree limb. We found we only had to spank her on the high part of her thigh when she is acting up. We did that to begin with and I tell you I didnt want to even hit her, but she was not learning that well with the slap on the hand and we also realized that she was flinching when we raised our hands, it looked like we beat her and the fact of the matter is that we slapped her hand probably 3-6 times a day. So that really bothered me, we decided to do as people in our church were saying. Which was to use the switch. Well we probably have to spank her with it about 2-3 times a day. And when we bring it out and say you need to behave, she understands and she starts to turn her attitude around and play nicely. She is our first daughter and I have learned a lot with this short time. I wish the best of luck to you. There is one difference though, she does not go to a daycare, I praise God that I am able to stay at home with her. This might also be a reason why she is doing so well. But like I said before most of the training starts in the home, so be sure to stay focused and dont let her get away with something one time and not for several other times because she will continue on to get away with it for that one time. IF you are consistant then she will move on to try to do something else, until she realizes she didnt get away with that and so on and so on. Well if you have any other questions, I would love to help you out. Please take in consideration what I have shared with you, it works.
@Stiletto (4579)
30 Mar 07
Am I reading this right? Your daughter is 15 months old and you spank her? The idea of a 15 month old baby flinching when parents raise their hands is just hideous. You use a switch?? Shame on you - you should be charged with child abuse. And by the way - what kind of people attend your church if that's what they advise you to do? Is it the Church of Monsters by any chance? I imagine your daughter would be only too happy to be in daycare just for the chance to get out of the house. This is probably one of the most horrible posts I've read on myLot so far. I truly hope the person that started this discussion disregards your advice.
• India
30 Mar 07
by giving sone right tips
@racsface (122)
• Malaysia
30 Mar 07
the best way is you have to spend a lot of time with ur daughter. by doing that,she know u really love her.i know yu have to work to make ends meet but make sure you u spend at least several hours with her.
@Calais (10893)
• Australia
30 Mar 07
You just do your best whatever you think is right. Just teach them her to have respect, manners and love. But later on is the problem. I think be as open as possible and talk all the time. Make a conversation about the little things, because (especially teenage years) if you dont make an effort to listen to the little things they wont talk to you when something major is happening in their lives. BTW - She's gorgeous.
• Philippines
30 Mar 07
it's true that time and affection is important especially when they are still very young. you should always try to make more time with your kid as much as possible coz you might not be knowing that she's recognizing other people as her mother rather than you. easy to say than done but you can do it because every mother can. that's the consequence of being a working mother but you don't have to worry because lots of working mothers today have been successful with parenting.
@rajsivaz (16)
• Australia
30 Mar 07
Despite of work always have some time to spent with your kid and use that time to listen to her and do not force her to do something which you think is right.If she is 1yr old you also play with her as a 1yr kid,if she is 5yr girl you also be a 5year girl and be her best companion, if she turns into teen you dont turn into a parent but you be a everloving friend of her.Dont ever advise her too much instead create an environment so that she feels you as a real friend and so that she dont have anything to hide from you. You can raise her as a responsible person by your own activities for example while speaking about others in front of her give respect to all,dont always buy her whatever she likes but get her whatever is useful to her.When she is 7yrs or more once in a while you take her to some orphanage or something like that which may make her understand how lucky she is, having a loving mother like you and she is getting all her needs satisfied than those kids.This is one way keep away the kids from getting distracted from unwanted fantacies and bad things.
@briennekb (610)
• United States
29 Mar 07
My daughter is in day care 8 hours a day so I can understnnad your feelings. However, You don't need to worry about it so much. You don't need to be there 24/7 to have a good relationship woth your child. Just remember to give her all your attention when you can be there. I used to watch a lot of television before I had my daughter. Now, I watch one show after she goes to bed. Before that, I feed her and play with her. Make her your priority when you can be there. And don't let anyone tell you that she will turn out bad because she is in day care. That just simply is not true. Your daughter will probably come out of day care with fantastic social skills and her speech will probably be better than a child not in day care. I know tha being a stay at home mom is preferable, but for many of us that simply is not an option. And that doesn't make us bad parents. We're doing what we've got to do to maintain a good life for our families. And our children will not turn out bad! When your daughter gets older, the best thing you can do is to talk to her often and try to understand her. Kids do dumb things sometimes but if you are understanding and you listen to what they have to say, you can probably control the problem. If you just get mad and yell all of the time, it is more likely that she won't turn to you and get in more trouble.
• United States
29 Mar 07
ifyou teach her right from the begining she will do ok ,it seems you care about her future a lot of parents today dont seem to however as it says in scripture (Prov.22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. )
• Philippines
29 Mar 07
We always have these set of rules or principles that we want to instill to our children hoping that these principles or set of actions that we will do will make them good persons when they grow up. I, myself, have rules that i want to adhere to when dealing with my kids, like listening to them when they call my attention, to always remember to respect them as children, to let them feel how much i love them in any way i can and a bunch of other things that i thought a good mother should do to her children. However, i realize that there are times that no matter how much we try to follow what we know and believe are the things we should do to make them better persons, there are times that it turns out the other way around. Sometimes, there are happenings to our children that we didn't even expect because we knew we taught them this and that. It doesn't always turn out what we want it to be. So, from the time i realized this, i thought to myself i will just do my part as a good parent, follow or adhere to my principles in parenting, that is, and will leave the rest to God as i believe i don't have the full control of everything that is happening and will just about to happen to my children's lives.
@kurtbiewald (2625)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I have never had a chance to be a parent I think my folks did a pretty good job of it though I think being a good example is most important of all. Whenever you are in doubt about what YOU should do, ask is this something I would want my daughter to do. Maybe thats the best advice I can suggest.
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
29 Mar 07
All you can do is your best. Teach her your morals and values. I don't think it is going to hurt her being in day care. It is the quality time you spend with her that counts. Start right from the beginning teaching her respect and manners. It sounds like you must be a great mom having this concern already, so she will probably turn out just fine.
@Tripod (105)
• Philippines
29 Mar 07
1) Be available 2) Advise, empathize, give good sugesstions 3) Be open minded 4) Good education system is a must 5) always have open communication 6) family activities 7) be open to what she likes, support her 8) discipline 9) don't reward her for the wrong things 10) be a good role model
@bad1981 (799)
• United States
29 Mar 07
If you are a good person and parent yourself, your kids will follow in your footsteps. Working outside the home doesnt make you a bad mom, actually your daughter will see you as being independant enough to care for her. I am a stay at home mom and even though I am here all the time that doesnt mean that my kids will come out better then yours because they have me 24-7.
@nkkyluv (83)
• Nigeria
29 Mar 07
Its normal for parents to feel this way concerning their kids & you are not left out here. Try as much as possible to have a postitive mind towards her, always let her know the right things to say, do etc. whenever you are with her, ask the teachers the kind of attitude she puts up, that is, what she likes doing etc. In any given situation, always let her know you love her & she's very important to her & let her develop confidence and trust in you to always want to let you know what happens to her as she grows up, above all, always pray.
@Ravenladyj (22904)
• United States
29 Mar 07
you dont need to be with her 24/7 to be a good parent in fact I think that being AWAY from her is important PROVIDED you make sure the time you do spend with her is quality time ya know...AND make sure YOU are the one who is setting the stage for the rules etc..dont let the daycare try to over-ride you when it comes to certain things IMO like just as an example...if you dont want her to go down for a nap with a pacifier, DONT let them give her one when they are putting her down for a nap (thats just an example) and so on..... Raising children properly really isnt hard to do.....You just have to make sure you set the stage in a way thats best for you and your little one...And DON'T let anyone tell you, con you, natter at you that because you arent with her 24/7 makes you a bad parent...cause THAT is a load of crap!