Parenting Skills Checklist

Rewarding Good Behavior

• Rewarding good behavior comes first in training children. Rewards can include intangible things such as attention, praise and extra leisure time, as well as tangible gifts such as pocket money.

Punishing Bad Behavior

• Lack of a reward sometimes provides sufficient punishment for bad behavior. By focusing attention on bad behavior, often the child feels rewarded and learns to misbehave to get attention. Deal with bad behavior swiftly and calmly.

Boundaries

• Ask yourself whether you've made boundaries clear. Fear can stifle children's creativity and enjoyment, so let your children know when it's all right to step out. Sometimes they cross over the line simply because you haven't explained the boundaries. Keep instructions clear, concise and memorable.

Consistency

• Stick to your guns. If a child senses the rules change constantly, or you decide whether to instill discipline on a whim, he'll become confused and lose sight of appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Once you've set a standard, stay with it.

Modeling

• Children learn by example. If you teach your child not to shout, don't shout at her. If you teach her to treat people with respect, don't be caught talking to your husband or wife disrespectfully. If you expect her to share, don't act selfishly. She'll model her behavior on the the way she sees you behaving.

Finances

• Managing the family purse challenges your organizational skills and discipline. Keep a budget detailing how much money comes in each month and how you will spend it. Prioritize so that essentials such as food, clothes and school items come first. Your child's future--especially his education--may depend on the patterns of financial management you set early on.

Time Management

• Parents often feel like they must fulfill many different roles at once. You have meals to cook, clothes to wash, babies to bathe, school parents' evenings to visit and a job to go to. Don't underestimate the importance of spending quality leisure time with your children. Set a routine and, just as you get into good financial habits, get in the habit of sound time management, prioritizing tasks and setting an example for your children's future habits.