What Qualities Should a Good Parent Possess & Why?

There's no such thing as a perfect parent. Every parent makes mistakes and must deal with the inevitable ups and downs of parenting and everyday life. But good parents try to help their children develop specific qualities, like empathy, self-reliance, patience and resilience. Children learn by modeling their parents' actions and behaviors. While there are many qualities of good parents, they should possess the qualities that they wish to instill in their children.

  1. Empathy

    • Empathy is the ability to feel what another person is feeling. It means that you are able to put yourself in someone else's shoes. If someone feels hurt or upset, you feel compassion for their pain. If someone feels happy, you are able to share in their joy. Children who develop empathy usually have an easier time making friends, perform better in school and have better moral and emotional development, according to the University of Alabama Parenting Assistance Line. Children learn empathy from their parents -- good parents display empathy on a regular basis to their children and model empathetic behaviors when interacting with others.

    Self-Reliance

    • While children experience varying degrees of dependency throughout their lives, they slowly learn to rely on themselves over the course of normal development. Self-reliance is an important quality of a good parent because it models capable and competent behavior. According to child and teen development specialist Dr. Robyn Silverman, children whose parents model responsibility and self-reliance learn to engage in similar behaviors. They learn to become more accountable and responsible for their behaviors and actions. Parents who are self-reliant believe that they have a strong influence over what happens to them and that they can effect positive changes in their lives.

    Patience

    • Being a parent isn't always easy. There are inevitable times of stress and frustration where you might feel like blowing your top. But maintaining a sense of patience can help you cope with such situations more easily and also help your children develop this important quality. Patient parents take time to listen to their children, model delaying immediate gratification, avoid snapping at their children when they feel frustrated and give their children attention even when they feel distracted, says social worker Bette Freedson in an article for the National Association of Social Worker's website, Help Starts Here.

    Resilience

    • Rigid behaviors and viewpoints discourage the development of resilience and adaptability. According to the American Psychological Association, resilience means having the ability to adapt to adversity, trauma, tragedy and stress. Parents who are resilient teach their children how to adapt to a variety of circumstances and life situations. They are able to help children understand that change is an inevitable part of life by modeling positive attitudes toward confronting obstacles and stressors in their own lives.

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