Understand the Job of a Parent

Those of us at Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii know and understand that we are moving into a more stressful time with the Coronavirus Pandemic still throughout our communities. The summer months are now upon us, our jobs are opening up once again and the question of who is going to help “watch the children” becomes a daily stress factor question. Your job as a nurturing parent has become an even more important part of your children’s life. It is from this need that Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii would like to share how you can enjoy the time you have with your children during the summer months.
Nurturing Parenting means to be respectful and helpful to your children by caring:

How they are feeling
What they are thinking
Why they are behaving the way they are
Responding in physically and emotionally helpful way.

As a parent you are continually in the process of helping your child grow and develop. It is important for parents to understand that “you are responsible for the nurturing and developmental stages of the child”. In order to be that “Nurturing Parent” one needs to know the that there are “nine” very basic parenting components that help the developmental growth of every child. The following parenting components that will help you as a parent/teacher support the growth and developmental stages of your child.

Interaction with you as the parent helps the learning process of your children.
Stable Relationships helps all children learn how to handle stress.
Gentle Touch helps to support the growth and development of a child’s brain grow.
A Safe and Healthy Home helps a child explore and learn in “their world”.
Quality Care helps a child learn the importance of care not only for themselves but for others around them.
Self-Esteem helps a child feel good about themselves as well as those around themselves.
Communication helps a child learn and build on their own verbal skills.
Reading helps the development of a child’s brain to grow and helps to encourage the importance of reading in a child’s life.
Play helps to build a child to develop their own creativity and imagination.

As a parent you need to take time every day to play, read, dance, touch, talk and interact with your child. Parents need to learn that by doing these simple interactions they are supporting positive experiences with the child while helping to build a stronger and more capable brain and positive self worth in their children.
It is important that a parent understands that to “nurture is to promote the growth and development of all of one’s positive traits, qualities and characteristics”. It’s during these times that your job seems more difficult but by taking the time to recognize what is happening around you, as a parent, you will be able to accept your job with the care and understanding that you never knew you had.
The summer is here, play with your children and enjoy every minute you have to be that “Nurturing Parent”!