RULE 3

Be content

Contented parents make for contented kids. I certainly found out when I was growing up that stressed parents don’t make their kids relaxed and at ease. So it stands to reason that you need to make sure you’re as happy and relaxed as you can be.

This isn’t some guilt trip to make you feel bad every time you’re grumpy or unhappy. Not at all. Quite the reverse, in fact. Our kids need to learn to read people’s emotions and recognise that everyone has their off moments. We all have bad days and tough experiences that affect our moods, but there are also things we can control. Aspects of our lives where we can make choices that leave us happier than the alternative. And the very fact that a certain choice makes us less stressed ...

Get The Rules of Parenting, 2nd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.