The world keeps getting darker and darker by the minute. Keeping our children safe has never been as important as today. Society is not bereft of bad influencers. Well, there is so little we can do about others, that we can only hope to protect what is ours.
We need to ensure that our children and their growth are not hampered by these anti-social elements. Bad company is better where it is, out of our sight, mind, and surroundings, and here is how we can ensure it.
Strengthen your bond with them.
As parents, we are in an excellent position to influence our kids. When they have a very strong bond with you, your children are less likely to be impacted by someone else.
Our topmost priority with our kids should be building a steady relationship with them. When the connection is strong, you can accomplish anything with them. And how do you do that? You talk to your children, you spend quality time with them. The environment around you and your kids should be very positive.
Such strong bonds are impossible to make without positive energy flowing from both ends. When you are interacting with your kids, keep in mind that we do not need to keep correcting them all the time. Discuss normal things with them like your day and whatever problems you may have faced there. You can even ask your child to give you a solution. You will be astonished by the level of maturity your kids can show.
You can also check out the blog that highlights the importance of energy in parenting
Help them increase their mental and emotional health.
We are as strong as we are on the inside. If your children are mentally weak, any negative thought can easily penetrate their brains and make them weak. Bad companies can be highly influential, so we need a strong resilient shield that will not let anything pass through it.
When your children work on their emotional and mental health, they will get the immunity to fight so many challenges.
Think about it, when your child has a stable mind, come what may, it will never affect him. The best way to keep our kids away from bad company is by making them strong enough to do it themselves.
Keep telling them about these things from the beginning.
As parents, we tend to keep some things hidden from our children for the reason that they are not appropriate for kids. And whenever they ask us questions about it we tell them, ‘don’t ask questions about something that doesn’t concern you.’ But, it does concern them.
Children are living in the same world as these ‘inappropriate things.’ How long will you be able to keep it away from your kids? They are bound to come to know about these things anyway.
However, the downside of your children not getting the information from you is that they get it from someone else, and we do not know how accurate it is. The more you avoid telling them, the more alluring it becomes for them. And, they will try to get it by hook or crook.
So, instead of hyping it up so much for them, try to be as straightforward as you can. Your children will really appreciate it. Moreover, it will not become such a huge deal for them that they will simply have to check it out themselves.
If you find out that your children have already consorted with them, handle the situation cautiously.
Children are curious and they will experiment. Sometimes, their experiments may be for the wrong things. But, it does not matter if they have done it. What matters is, what did you do after they told you?
If your children have been mingling with the wrong sort, then don’t panic. Take a deep breath and clear your mind. Your reaction will decide the course of future events. Today if you shout at them, or reprimand them, there is a strong chance that they may start drifting apart from you because they are terrified of you.
But, if you handle it calmly and talk to them in a soothing voice, the chances are they will never do any of these things again, which is what we want in the first place.
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Let them know that home is a safe zone.
If you want your children to come and share with you, then you need to ensure that they get a secure atmosphere at home. If they always face criticism and shouting whenever they tell home something, why will they be doing it?
If your children know that they are going to get the scolding of life from their parents for it, they will hide it from you. They will keep creating a wedge between the two of you. And thus, the distance will keep increasing till they decide to completely stop sharing anything with you.
So, if you want your children to trust you with their secrets, you have to ensure that your house is a ‘no judgment’ zone. They need someone in whom they can confide in every small detail of their life. Be that person.
Share stories with them.
There are many instances happening around us where innocent kids have ruined their life by coming in contact with the wrong sort. Rather than hiding such things with them, share stories with them. When you tell your kids about it, you can have a healthy discussion with them.
You could have a dialogue with your children, discuss whether what happened was right or wrong, hear their views out then share some of your points. It will not only help in keeping them away from such people, but the trust they have in you also increases.
If you have any incidents from your past in this matter, then you can tell your kids that too. You could tell them what were all the challenges that you had to go through because of that mistake and how you overcame it.
There is a very thin line between protecting and controlling. You have to constantly assess yourself and make sure that you stay on the ‘protecting’ side. Our main aim is not to take their life into our hands because the world outside has many bad people. Rather, we have to teach them to be able to stay away from them.