G1729
Parenting Your Child Effectively:
My Plan to Improve
My Parent-Child Relationships
This is the culmination of the 10-part “Parenting Your Child Effectively” series and provides an assessment tool to measure parenting changes.
Marilyn S. Fox, Extension Educator
Children are part of the total family, but giving up everything for them is probably not a wise idea. Parents have needs that also must be met. It has been suggested that every child needs to have people “who are really crazy about him — people who love that child with all their hearts.” Parents are especially good at this kind of loving and it may be the most important life-long contribution they can make for their child’s growth and development.
| 1. In my parent-child relationship, I am most concerned about: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ | |||
| 2. The way I usually handle this concern includes one or more of the following: (Place a check mark beside the concern(s). | |||
| _____ Talking, lecturing _____ Staring, nagging _____ Giving orders, commands _____ Getting angry _____ Criticizing |
_____ Analyzing _____ Punishing, removing privileges _____ Threatening, yelling warning _____ Other_____________________________ |
||
| 3. During the past week in my own parent-child relationship: | |||
| I believe that I: | More | Less | About the Same |
| Acted more calmly | |||
| Acted instead of reacted | |||
| Listened | |||
| Acted firmly and kindly | |||
| Encouraged rather than discouraged | |||
| Communicated love and mutual respect | |||
| Withdrew from conflict that didn’t involve me | |||
| Encouraged responsible decision making | |||
| Enjoyed my parent-child relationship | |||
| Took time for myself. | |||
| 4. The atmosphere in our family has changed to one of: | |||
| Atmosphere | More | Less | About the Same |
| Friendliness | |||
| Cooperation | |||
| Respect for each other | |||
| Understanding | |||
| Stress and fighting | |||
| Helping each other | |||
| Self-discipline | |||
| Planning and working together | |||
| Fun with family members | |||
| Distrust | |||
| Confusion | |||
| 5. This week I learned__________________________________________________________________________ | |||
| ___________________________________________________________________________________________ | |||
| ___________________________________________________________________________________________ | |||
| 6. I plan to change my parent-child behavior by ___________________________________________________________________________________________ | |||
| ___________________________________________________________________________________________ | |||
Acknowledgment
This fact sheet contains guidelines to help parents interact with their children. It was reformatted from NebGuide G991 (Revised May 1997) written by Herbert G. Lingren, Extension Family Life Specialist.
Visit the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Publications Web site for more publications.
Index: Family Life
Parenting
Issued July 2007