Easy and Enjoyable Parenting

A No Nonsense Guide

This book is for adults who want to experience Easy and Enjoyable Parenting of children, adolescents, and young adults.

There are a lot of ideas and recommendations. These come from over 30 years of parenting by the author and his wife. He has studied family life and taught classes on it.

The emphasis is on a positive approach, with proven techniques and strategies that work in a variety of family situations. The book covers the sustaining of good family life over time, despite challenges and obstacles that come into the lives of family members.

Part I, “Parent Basics”, includes Chapters 1 to 6. Each chapter covers important things for the parent to understand and do. These include: Adult Preparation for Family Life; Marriage Is Important so establish a good marriage and sustain it; understanding and carrying out Parental Responsibilities; make sure Parents Are in Charge and not the kids; Having Children and nurturing parent-child relationships; establishing Traditional Family Life with regular family life patterns like meals and activities. There are things for the children to do also, but the primary emphasis and responsibilities here are with the parents. Part I forms the foundation of this book and directly supports Part II.

Part II, “Parent and Child Interaction”, includes Chapters 7 to 11. Each one covers basics for understanding young people and interacting with them in effective ways. Important topics include: Child Development; Communication; Teaching, Coaching, Counseling; Training and Discipline; Basic Tools for Child to Develop and Use. Success in this part of the book depends on both the parent and child.

Part III, “Specific Areas of Concern and Emphasis”, includes Chapters 12 to 18. Areas stressed are: Health; Educational Choices And Performance; Activities; Computers And Cell Phones; Social Interaction; Cooperation And Teamwork; Environmental Influences. The child is the main character and the parent is the coach. In each chapter the child is involved in different activities, projects, endeavors, and relationships. Some involve himself only, and some include others. Parents participate at times too. Many of these occur away from home. Several types of knowledge, skills, and strengths are covered. Parts I and II support efforts here.

Part IV, “Seeing Good Results in Child’s Life”, includes Chapters 19 to 26. Examples here include: good Choices And Decisions; handling Challenges; Dealing With Negative Things; Character Development; establishing Personal Standards To Live By; Independent Thinking; Job Preparation and Eventual Satisfaction; making Progress Over Time. In each chapter, the child demonstrates the good results of his growth and development over the years. He is learning and achieving in different ways in each chapter. These are things that parents should look for in their kids. Good efforts in Parts I - III will produce good results here.

Part V, “Child and Parent Satisfaction”, includes Chapters 27 to 28. Chapter 27 covers ways to examine Child Satisfaction. The ultimate test is the child experiencing success stories or achievement in many ways. Chapter 28 covers Parent Satisfaction. It’s important for parents to be satisfied with their efforts and the results produced in the lives of children and themselves. For child and parent, satisfaction is not something to be achieved only after the child is raised, but experienced every year the parent and child are interacting with one another and helping each other to learn and grow. With success in Parts I - IV both parent and child will feel satisfied the entire time parenting occurs.

In summary, parenting can be an easy and enjoyable experience if parent and child do their parts well. There will be up and downs in efforts. At times performance and satisfaction will be better than other times. There will be challenges to face and problems to solve, but not impossibilities. Husband and wife unity, along with parent and child teamwork, will overcome all of these. Family life will be happy for everyone.