How to Avoid the Common Mistakes of Parenting

Some days I feel like a pretty good dad, like I really understand my boys, and I have a good handle on this parenting thing. Then there are the other days …

Years ago, when my oldest son, Trent, was 3 or 4, he would go bananas when I tried to wash his hair in the tub. No matter how gentle I was, he’d cry and say, “Why, Daddy?”

At first, I thought his complaining was normal. He was just a little boy who didn’t want to take a bath. But by the time he turned 5, the problem was worse. He didn’t like us to brush his hair, brush his teeth, or put lotion on his skin.

Trent was eventually diagnosed with a texture sensitivity issue that made him averse to normal, everyday touch experiences. As good as it was to finally have an explanation for his reactions, the guilt I felt was terrible. All those battles I’d had with him to simply get his hair washed weighed heavy on my mind. The little guy was in pain, and my wife and I didn’t know it. That was tough to swallow.

You’ve probably experienced similar emotions yourself. We all fail our kids. Sometimes we fail them in ways we don’t even see. And it’s tough to take.

Parenting is the most important job we’ll ever have, and we want to do it right. But there’s no foolproof formula to parenting, no guarantees that we’ll get from point A to point Z without stumbling every so often.

That’s why good parenting isn’t about perfection. It’s a long journey, often with twists and turns in the road. It’s about learning from our mistakes and doing a little better today than we did yesterday.

To successfully achieve that objective, there are some crucial mistakes we need to avoid. And that’s what we want to talk about on our program today and tomorrow: the “biggies.”

A lot of parents get to the end of the parenting road and say, “I wish I could do it over again knowing what I know now.” Or, “I wish I had a manual when I started parenting.” I believe this broadcast will be something like a good parenting manual. We help you avoid common traps many parents fall into and arm you with some practical information you can put into practice immediately.

Our guest for the next couple of programs is Dr. Tim Elmore, the president and founder of Growing Leaders, an organization that works in high schools and colleges, churches, and even with some major athletic organizations to equip, train, and mentor future leaders.

I hope you’ll join us over the next couple of days on your local radio station, online, or via our free, downloadable mobile phone app as we talk about “Avoiding the Common Mistakes of Parenting.”