What Are The Traits Of A Good Parent?

What's Covered

The characteristics of a parent define whether he or she is a good parent or not. These good traits help in raising successful, happy, and well-adjusted kids. No miracle blesses some moms and dads with this ability; these traits are developed with time and experience.

Being a good parent is a skill. If you want to acquire the same traits and want to become a perfect parent, you should read the characteristics given below.

We will discuss each of them in detail so that you can implement them in your life.

25 Traits of a Good Parent

Here we are going to discuss the twenty-five traits of a perfect parent. So let’s dig right in so that you can become a role model for your children.

1. Expresses Love and Affection

As a parent, it is essential to show your children that you love them no matter the circumstance. Whenever they make a mistake, don’t scold them straight away, instead talk to them and tell them with love why that thing is not good.

The love and affection you give your children are reflected in society. Your child will become a good human being with empathy for others. The kids who had passion and love try to give the same to others.[1] All these small gestures make a huge difference.

2. Are Understanding

The most valuable trait of a good parent is that they are Understanding. They do not scold their children for unconscious mistakes. Instead, they understand them and make them know the situation’s serenity so that they do not repeat the same error.

If you are not an understanding parent, your child will not be able to share their problems with you as they might think that their parents will take them negatively and only punish us for it and provide no reasonable way or solution.

You should take extreme care of this trait. The ability to understand your children is scarce and is attained with many efforts. You have to win your kid’s trust to understand and help them in every situation.

3. Independence

As your kids grow, they expect independence, and in my opinion, it is a great thing. It would be amazing if you made your kid independent from an early age but before that, teach them all the necessary elements to become a great human being.

It would help if you kept them involved in your vital house and life decisions. It will help them develop a sense of problem-solving, and whenever in life they will face any such situation, your kids will be ready to face them head-on as they have already learned how to do so since they were young.

4. Are Consistent

Being consistent is essential. The rules and limits that you have set should remain fixed. Your kids should have a sense of security to accept the decisions you have made for the whole house.

You shouldn’t only be consistent with your rules, but also the time and love you give to your children.

5. Flexible

Being a great parent is not always about being strict and fixed to the rules you have set. If there is an occasion where your child wants to go, but it is after the time limit, then you should indeed allow them. Being flexible now and then creates a sense of trust between the parent and the children.

If you keep on stopping them from going places that require time beyond the set limit, they will eventually find ways to go there and then try to hide the fact they did. It is the most dangerous stage as, at this point, your child learns to hide things from you, and this habit will keep on developing until you allow them yourself, but until then, it might be too late.

6. Develop Passion

A newborn baby is entirely independent of its parent for survival and other activities. But as the child grows, they can start making age-related decisions such as the games they want to play and the friends with whom they want to be.

It is a crucial stage in your kid’s life, and you should not limit them at this point. It also helps in the development of passions and talent that they might keep for their whole life. They are discovering their life and passion, and you as a parent should let them do it.

7. Communicate Properly

If you wish to be a great parent, you should develop the ability to communicate with your children.[2] This communication is not the small talk or conversation about studies. This communication is about everything they have been through throughout the day.

This communication includes the things they are scared to tell others and are humiliated by it. If you have created a sense of trust from the beginning, your child will not hesitate to tell you everything that’s been going on in their life. And if you can help them resolve those issues, trust me, they will always share things with you, and as a parent, that’s all a person wants.

8. Make time for their kids

Making time for your kid is a critical aspect of being a good parent. Today’s world has become extremely busy, and so many parents are working 12 hours a day and don’t have time for their kids. This kind of attitude makes your kids deprived of parental love, and they do not develop a sense of love and affection.

It would help if you gave at least 2 to 4 hours every day to your kids, mostly young. You can play creative games with them or read a book to them or whatever your kid loves to do. You can have a chess game with your kids to teach them the skill of strategy and decision making.

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Wooden chess sets
This game will help in acquiring problem-solving skills and to tackle difficult situations

If it is their birthday and they have a big budget, you have to buy an electric scooter for your kids. They will surely live it as they can travel easily wherever they want, and these are becoming popular due to their affordability and eco-friendly nature.

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Razor Power core scooter
A great birthday gift for your child on which he or she can go freely to different places and play with their friends

In the time that you have fixed for their child, you should also listen to their problems and devise ways by which they can overcome them. These things help in the positive development of your child.

9. Multitasking

As a parent, you should always be ready to be a multi-tasker. You will have to take care of the entire house and, at the same time, have to see if the child is doing fine.

These things are specially for moms as they are the child’s primary caretaker and the house. So if you are a multi-tasker, then congrats, you are going to be a fantastic parent.

10. Encouraging

If you always encourage your kids[3] whenever they do something good, It builds a sense of belonging and makes them happy about the thing they have done. When kids see that their parents are delighted to see what they are doing, they try their best to mimic the same thing repeatedly to make them more comfortable.

You might have seen that parents scold their kids when they make even a small mistake but do not praise them even a bit when they do something great. This discrimination makes your child more sensitive, and when he knows that doing something good will not affect their parents, they will stop doing it.

11. Self-Aware

You have to be self-aware of your activities and words. The child observes everything the parent does and then tries to mimic it. You should have the ability to analyze if your efforts are good enough for your child or not.

If you think that your child is attaining some negative emotions or character, you should check your lifestyle and behavior. These kids learn from their parents, and if you are mature enough to behave right in front of them, they will also become good people.

12. Guidance and Support

To be a good parent, you have to provide them with unlimited guidance and support throughout their life. It doesn’t matter if your kid is old enough; he should know that he can always come and take advice from you. It makes them understand that you will support them in every situation and will not back off.

It is an essential factor while becoming a good parent. If your kid cannot come to you for guidance, they will undoubtedly make mistakes that they could’ve prevented from happening. These small things create considerable differences in the development of your kid.

13. Don’t be mean and angry

When you see that your kid has made a mistake, please don’t get mad straight away and scold them. It would help if you took time to process the details and listen to your child what happened. In this way, your kid will not make that mistake again.

On the other hand, if you get angry with them on every small mistake and be mean to them, they will not only cut off from you but also start lying so that you don’t get angry. It also develops the same character in your child, and they will become mean to other people as you were with them.

14. Keep Track of their kids

A Parent should always keep track of their children’s success and the things happening in their life. If they are going through any mental breakdown, then you should know about it. It doesn’t matter if your kids tell you or not; you should know it just by seeing them.

It is a remarkable quality that is inborn in parents. They know when their child is depressed or sad, and whenever you think that it is happening to your child, take to them instantly and try to come up with a solution that will take them away from all the negativity.

Doing all this once or twice and solving their problems will create trust, and whenever they feel sad or depressed again, they will come running to you for guidance and support. There are many ways and apparatus by which you can keep track of your kid.[4]

15. See the hidden talent in kids

Parents should be able to see and explore the hidden potential in your child. Your child may not know the talent they have, but parents can sense them because they have grown them from a small child to a fully grown teen.

Try to find the potential in your child and help them lead their life according to it. Parents push their kids in a career against their liking, and then kids blame their parents for their failure.

16. Sense of humor

A Good sense of humor can surely help to create good relations with your children. Throughout life, the young one will create scenes that will make you laugh, and I don’t think you want to miss the opportunity to laugh and have fun with your children.

This new generation has a great sense of humor, so if you have the same abilities, I am sure you and your kid will get along just fine. And if you don’t have this ability, then try to develop it in yourself.

17. Perfect Role Model

Your child mimics the same activities and behavior they see their parents doing. For example, if you give something to a beggar in front of your child, they will think it’s the right action and try to do the same whenever they see someone needy.

The effect of actions is more significant than word of mouth. If you keep you telling your kid to do something and you don’t do it yourself, then they will not do that as well. But if you don’t even tell them anything and show them the things you are doing, they will surely follow in your footsteps.

If you always try to be and do right in front of your kids to learn some positive things and implement them in their lives.

18. Keeps boundaries and Limits

It would help if you created boundaries and limits for your child because they end up doing things you don’t want them to do in the rage of a teen. You can set a time limit on when to come back home, and if they did something wrong, what might be the punishment for it.

These rules are not made to restrict your child but make them understand the severity of law and regulations that they might face in the real world.

You have to prepare your kid to face all the harsh realities of the world, and do so, you have to go an extra mile to understand all these things.

19. Healthy eating habits

A mother should maintain a healthy eating habit because she can transfer these things genetically to her kid. Not only then, even when the child is born, you don’t maintain a healthy diet, your kid will also have the same habits, and I am sure you don’t want that to happen.

So it would be best if you tried to create healthy eating habits so that your kid can learn from them and don’t get any issues and diseases later in life due to poor eating habits.  Healthy eating habits help in decreasing temptations for eating large portions. [5]

20. Physically and mentally strong

A mother has to be physically healthy because they have to deliver a baby and take care of it for many years. A weak mother will take months to recover, but a healthy and physically strong mother will recover quickly and efficiently take care of their kids.

You can buy a treadmill that will keep you active. You can go for a run on it for 30 minutes every day, and you will surely see the difference in your strength and stamina.

Being physically strong is not all; you also have to be strong spiritually to tackle challenging situations and make difficult decisions. For that, you can try doing yoga by buying a yoga mat for yourself. You have to do it for 15 minutes every day for your spiritual and mental peace.

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Exercise yoga mat
A thick and durable mat on which you can sit back and do yoga to relax yourself mentally and spirtually

21. Patience

If you are a parent, you should learn the art of being patient. You will have to face situations where your child will not listen to you and make the same mistakes repeatedly, but you have to be patient with your child.

Your kids don’t know what they are doing because they have not yet developed a sense of understanding. Some kids understand a situation better than the others as every kid is not the same.

You should wait and patiently try to make them understand, and over time, they will stop doing it. Because sometimes, scolding is not an option; instead, being patient is more helpful.

22. Self Caring

To become a good parent, you have to be a healthy parent too. It would help if you took care of yourself so that you can efficiently handle your kids. If you don’t care good care, you will end up being sick, and there will be no one to take good care of your children. It would help if you had healthy eating habits and also be physically strong.

So this is also an essential factor in becoming a good parent. If you keep on ignoring yourself, you will not be able to take care of your kids effectively.

You can also read the book, Self-Care for Parents: A 5-step method to having a happy balance in life will help you achieve a balance between work and self-care to create a happy and healthy family.

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Self-care for parents
This book will help you achieve a harmonious family where every member is healthy, happy and fulfilled

23. Dependable

A kid is always dependable on their parents for their needs and wants. Until a kid becomes independent, all of their expenses are handled by their parents.

But the thing doesn’t end here. The kids should also be emotionally dependent on their parents. Whenever they feel down, they should know that kids can tell their parents and have an exceptional solution to their problems.

This habit is developed from childhood. If you talk to your children and make them understand that they can tell them anything and only give them a solution for all their problems, you have indeed made them a good friend and will help them ahead in their lives.

24. Honesty

The trait that you expect your kids to have is honesty. But have you ever pondered about how you can develop this trait in them?

The trait of being honest comes when the child sees that their parents don’t lie even if the consequences are harmful. They will know that they have to tell the truth so that they don’t have to lie furthermore to cover up for one lie.

25. Teach kids to be a Good person

The parents are the only people that teach kids to be the right person and a good citizen. If you haven’t taught these things to make them a good human being, they can be a disaster as they won’t learn it from anywhere else.

Many traits that we have discussed earlier should also be present in the kids, and it is the parents’ responsibility to help their kids develop these traits to help them be successful in their life.

Bonus Trait: Always accept your mistake

Accepting your mistakes is the first step you can take in being a fantastic parent. Many parents do not accept their mistakes because they think they can harm their integrity and respect. But they fail to see how it is affecting their children.

When the child sees that their parents don’t accept their mistakes and keep their integrity, they will never accept the mistakes they have consciously done because that’s precisely what they have seen their parents do all their life.

Try to accept your mistakes to teach your kids that it is not wrong to accept the things you have done. It doesn’t decrease your respect; instead, people might live with you for being honest.

Conclusion

So here you go. These were the 25 traits as promised. These traits are not given to people by a miracle but are attained with knowledge and experience.

Try to find these qualities in yourself, and If you think you lack in any of the above points, try to improve that as all of these things directly impact your kid’s development. And I know you always want the best for your kid.


[1] Inman-Amos, Jill, Susan S. Hendrick, and Clyde Hendrick. “Love attitudes: Similarities between parents and between parents and children.” Family Relations (1994): 456-461.

[2] Laursen, Brett, and W. Andrew Collins. “Parent-child communication during adolescence.” The Routledge handbook of family communication 2 (2004): 333-348.

[3] Dinkmeyer, Don C., and Rudolf Dreikurs. Encouraging children to learn. Psychology Press, 2000.

[4] Desch, David Alan. “Method and apparatus for keeping track of children.” U.S. Patent No. 6,078,260. 20 Jun. 2000.

[5] Lin, Pei-Ying, Wendy Wood, and John Monterosso. “Healthy eating habits protect against temptations.” Appetite 103 (2016): 432-440.

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Author

Vivian Perry

Vivian Perry

Mother of 3 kids. Enjoy reading parenting books and studied child care degree. Vivian loves to learn and write about parenting tips and help her kids to grow positively with grit mindset.

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