No Two Parents Are The Same

 What do you consider to be the most controversial part of parenting? First off, how many aspects are there of parenting to begin with? Off the top of my head, I can think of the following: discipline, care, provide, and love. You can probably think of more. Of course, everyone parents their children differently. No one can tell someone else how they should raise their children. That's why I consider different methods of taking disciplinary action to be controversial.

Now, in what ways can taking disciplinary action vary from parent to parent? Of course, there's the fact that all parents are different, as I mentioned earlier. There are parents that don't believe in harsh consequences, while there are those that only use harsh ones. There are parents that let only the natural consequences follow suit, but sometimes those kinds of consequences can be dangerous or are considered "insufficient."

But anyway, as I said, parents will parent how they see fit. The first point I want to make is that you should parent the way you feel most comfortable with--and no one should be able to tell you that you are doing it incorrectly. Of course, there are some exceptions. I will never, ever consider abuse--physical, sexual, emotional, verbal--or neglect to be okay. Those are not "methods" of parenting. It is simply wrong.

I want to provide you with a source of truth on families. The following quotes are from "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."

"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.

"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed."

I hope those doctrinal words provided some guidance and comfort to you.

Another thing to remember is that mistakes will be made. No one, and I mean no one, other than our Savior Jesus Christ, is perfect. Do not let other people turn your mistakes on you and say that you are a bad and/or unfit parent. If you feel unworthy and incapable, I suggest turning to your loving Heavenly Father for guidance and comfort. He knows of all our struggles and loves us more than anything. I know that turning to Him is never a bad decision.

As for my situation and experience, I have yet to become a parent. It will probably be a while until I am one. However, I am still allowed to have an opinion, as well as learn from my surroundings and the experiences I have had. By studying the world around me and the words of prophets--the mouthpieces of Heaveny Father, I have been able to decide what kind of parent I want to be.

As I said earlier, please understand that as long as you do your best to care for your children in any way that you can and love them, you are doing your job.

-

Thanks for reading!

-Katie

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