@theparentalpsychologist: A lot of parenting advice sounds sensible until you try to apply it to a real child, in a real family, on a difficult Tuesday morning. Here are ten “rules” I don’t follow: 1. Never bribe your child. I wouldn’t rely on rewards for everything, but sometimes an incentive helps a child get through something difficult or necessary. 2. Never use screens. Sometimes screens give everyone a needed pause. I’m more interested in the overall pattern than one exhausted afternoon. 3. Never change your mind after saying no. I want my children to see that adults can reconsider when new information becomes available. 4. Never let your child see you upset. Children can see adults having feelings. What matters is that they know those feelings aren’t their responsibility to fix. 5. Never help with something they can do themselves. Skills aren’t available consistently. Tiredness, stress, sensory overload and the need for connection all affect what a child can manage. 6. Never leave while your child is crying. Sometimes I still have to leave them with another safe adult. Their distress doesn’t automatically mean the separation is harmful or that I’ve made the wrong decision. 7. Always be consistent. I’m consistent about safety and our core boundaries. But fair parenting also responds to the child, the context and the capacity they have that day. 8. Turn every mistake into a lesson. Children don’t need a debrief after every difficult moment. Sometimes repair, rest and moving on are enough. 9. Stay calm no matter what. I aim to respond safely, but I’m still human. When I don’t manage it well, I come back and repair. 10. Always put your child’s needs first. My needs matter too. A family cannot work if one person is expected to disappear inside everybody else’s needs. Parenting advice isn’t necessarily wrong. But even a good strategy can be unhelpful when it’s used at the wrong time, for the wrong reason or with the wrong child. The real skill isn’t collecting more rules. It’s understanding when they fit your child, and when they don’t. #parenting #children #childpsychology #parentingadvice #emotionalregulation

The Parental Psychologist

Open In TikTok:

Region: IE

Monday 20 July 2026 16:35:48 GMT