On being friendly and being a friend to one's children

Being friendly with one's children

This cannot be achieved overnight. I often find parents coming to me when they cannot handle their teenagers. 

Parenting is like a constructing a building. The foundation has to be strong. Begin early on the values you wish to impart. 

From early childhood the child has to be taught good manners, discipline and a routine.

You ( both parents) must make it a habit to begin communicating with your child on a daily basis. Else it would be extremely difficult to do all of the above when the child enters its teens.

Being friendly means empathizing with your child. It means to respect him/her as he/she is. It means 'listening' to your child. It means you set definite boundaries. It means your child can count on you for support. This is authoritative parenting.

Please do not confuse it with being a 'friend'. Most parents make this blunder. In their good intentions of being a friend they become permissive parents. Rules are not established. And they are taken aback when their teens overstep boundaries which existed only in the parent's world.The teens are shocked that suddenly their parents are becoming'parents'. 

Hence do remain a parent. It is a wonderful state to be in.