Health & Parenting (2024)

FAQs

What is an example of good enough parenting? ›

Identify your child's physical and emotional needs, and do your best to meet those needs. For example, take your child to the doctor or dentist when she needs to go. Get him to school every day. Spot when your child is upset, anxious or overtired, and try to respond with empathy.

'Good enough' parenting encompasses being sensitive, warm and empathic towards your baby, being physically and emotionally available for her and meeting her needs responsively.

Speak with your child about why they don't want to visit. Approach the conversation from a position of understanding while still impressing upon them the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with the co-parent. Allow them to express any feelings or concerns they may have without judgment.

Good enough parenting liberates you from the pressures of perfection. It allows you to focus on what truly matters—nurturing healthy growth and emotional well-being in your children. Embrace your imperfections, set realistic expectations, and foster secure attachments with your little ones.

Favorite quote: "It is important to be merely good enough parents. Perfect parents would create particular headaches for children; they would set a standard besides which they would always feel like failures. Flawed but kind parents do their children an enormous service: they prepare them for the world as it is.

The Four Cs are Choices, Consequences, Consistency and Compassion, and each is as important as the next, and none can be left out of effective parenting.

Saline's five C's of ADHD parenting—self-control, compassion, collaboration, consistency, and celebration—provide a comprehensive guide for nurturing success in your child's life. You build a strong foundation of trust and support by modeling self-control and showing compassion.

Through Winnicott's eyes, perfect parenting wasn't merely unattainable — it wasn't desirable. Yes, infants need immediate attention and all of their needs met. But as children grow, they are better off with the “good enough” parent, one who offers the space to forge ahead with increasing independence.

It is important to note that in most family courts, until your child is 18, they do not get to decide with which parent they live or how often they see each parent. The caveat is they do get a voice and opinion on these issues.

Does my daughter have to see her dad? ›

The court will always encourage that children have a relationship with both parents. Therefore, children should always be encouraged by Mum to go and see Dad if it's a safe and loving environment. If there's a reason for them not wanting to go and see their Dad, then that needs to be looked into to try and resolve it.

Legal Concerns for Refusing Visitation

No matter the reason for not wanting to see their other parent, custodial parents are responsible for making sure that their child sees their other parent. Family law courts want to see co-parents working together to encourage their child to spend time with each parent.

In many cases, adult children cut off their parents because of early childhood experiences involving trauma, attachment wounds, miscommunication, or unhealthy dynamics. These experiences are often cumulative and can end in a “straw that broke the camel's back” moment where the adult child decides they've had enough.

Physically, Emotionally, or Sexually Abusive Parents

Although few people would question someone's decision to cut off a parent due to physical or sexual abuse, researchers found that emotional abuse was the most common reason participants distanced themselves.

But poor or absent parenting can fray those bonds and create indifferent or even hostile relationships. For instance, if you're always on the computer — or if you provide terrible meals or treat your children in a very stern, rigid or non-compassionate way — your children might reject you.

D.W. Winnicott (1987) coined the term “good enough mother.” It refers to the 'holding environment' for the child that ensures that, during the first years of rapid neuropsychological growth, the child feels appreciated, confident, and trusting.

Tronick and his colleagues, found that parents were only correctly attuned to their infant's emotional state about 20-30% of the time. Tronick called this being 'in sync'. It is impossible for a parent to be completely, and perfectly, attuned to their child all the time.

Meeting children's health and developmental needs; Putting children's needs first; Providing routine and consistent care; Acknowledging problems and engaging with support services.

Kids don't need a perfect parent, what they do need is a good enough parent. A parent who is warm, responsive and occasionally makes mistakes. Because being let down is part of daily life and it builds resilience. Something kids need to be able to adapt to change as they grow.