I talk about this almost every post I feel like, but The Family: A Proclamation to the World is a guide that is given to us about families here on earth and for eternity. It even talks about parenting!
Some things that it says that go along with parenting are, "The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave." and it then goes onto state, "HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations."
I love that before it even says to love and care for your children, it says to love and care for each other as husband and wife. We do care for our children in a way when we are fostering our marriage. My parents did a great job at putting each other first and showing love for one another. I may not have realized is so much then, but I do know, how that that helped my sister and I see what loving and healthy marriage looked like.
I think that it is important to remember that the goal of parenting isn't to raise good kids, but it is to raise good adults. I think that it is easy for parents to worry a lot about what their kids is doing, how good they are at something, and want to make sure that they are being a "good parent" to what really is what the world views. In reality, no one is going to remember how good your kindergartner was on his timed math tests. It is important to know your kids, push them, and want them to do well at things, but as long as it is for the right reasons. Pride and selfishness play a big role in parenting and how well you are doing about it. It can easily become about the parent rather than the child.
It is also important to foster the parent and child relationship, because the more that you know your child, the better parent they can be. If you don't know your child very well, then it will be hard to know how to parent them in the way that they need.
I feel like we often hear "I don't know what I'm doing, there is no guide to parenting" or something along those lines fairly often. I know, even though I am not a parent yet, that the Book of Mormon is a guide to parenting. As we read and study the Book of Mormon, we will feel closer to Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost. Through that relationship with them, we will be able to be more in tune with the spirit and find answers to questions about parenting.
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