By Luminita D. Saviuc | Purpose Fairy
“Great parents raise their children to value people for what they have in their hearts, not in their pockets…” ~ Luminita D. Saviuc
Your children are life’s gift to you. The way you raise your children is the gift you give back to life. Pour your love and wisdom onto them, and you will pour your love and wisdom into life. Pour your ignorance and passivity, and the whole world will suffer – yourself including.
15 Things Great Parents Do Differently
1. Great parents strive to be like their children, and not to the other way around.
Great parents are aware of the fact that our prior condition is love, light, and happiness. Therefore, they don’t try to make their children be like them. But rather, they aspire to become like their children. They know that just as Kahlil Gibran said it so beautifully,
“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
2. Great parents practice non-interference.
They understand that parenting isn’t about having children lean on you, but rather about making learning unnecessary. And through their words, actions and behaviors, they teach their children how to become self-reliant – to always follow their own compass and to trust the quiet voice of their heart and intuition more than the loud voice of the world.
“Parenting is not about having children lean on you but making leaning unnecessary. They have a compass, let them follow their own compass; freeing you up to be your own person on your own time and allowing them to become who they are to become.” ~ Wayne Dyer
3. Great parents teach their children to honor the relationship they have with their inner Divinity.
Great parents know that the relationship with their Inner Being is the most important relationship in their children’s lives – even more important than the relationship with their parents. Thus, they encourage their children to look within; to seek for Truth, for Love, and for guidance, within the center of their own Being; to honor the voice of their heart, and to always walk on the path that life intended them to walk upon.
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” ~ Matthew 10:37
4. They protect, preserve and develop their children’s genius.
Years ago, an incredible study was made at Harvard University called Project Zero where Howard Gardner, together with his colleagues found that every child is born a genius across multiple bits of intelligence and that by the age of 20, the percentage of geniuses within a population whittles down to 10%… and over the age of twenty, only 2% retained their genius ability.
As Buckminster Fuller said it so beautifully, “All children are born geniuses; 9,999 out of every 10,000 are swiftly, inadvertently degeniusized by grownups.”
Great parents are aware of the fact that their children are geniuses. And they do their best to protect, preserve and constantly develop their child’s genius, talents, and unique gifts and abilities. They treasure their children’s genius and do not interfere with their ability to create and express themselves freely and openly.
5. They encourage their children to live in alignment with their life purpose.
Great parents don’t try to impose unrealistic or unsuitable expectations on their children. But rather, they encourage them to always do the things they feel in their hearts is right for them, even if these things make little or no sense to others.
They are constantly reminding their children that each and every one of us is meant to walk on a unique path in life and that only by walking on this path we will always remember who we really are, where we come from, where we’re going and why we are here on this planet.
6. Great parents don’t give up on themselves ‘for the children’s sake.‘
Even though they take the lives of their children seriously – caring for their happiness, education, health, and well-being, these parents know that they are more than the roles they play. Thus, they honor themselves and the path they walk in life. They take good care of themselves and the things that have so much value and meaning to them. And they make sure not to fall into the trap of giving up on themselves and their lives ‘ for the children’s sake’.
7. Great parents teach their children to never look for love and approval outside themselves.
Because they know that we were all created whole and perfect and that within ourselves lies hidden all the love, happiness, and approval we need and desire, they teach their children to never burden anyone by making other people responsible for how they feel or don’t feel. But rather to look within. And to trust that in doing so, they will discover the love and approval we all need and long for.
8. Great parents teach their children to live with an open heart.
In spite of the many disappointments, heartbreaks, betrayals, and hurtful situations they might experience in life. And in spite of the many pains and struggles they might face as they advance through life, great parents teach their children to never give up on love.
They know that love is life and life is love. And they teach their children to never give up on love. Because if they do, they give up on life…
9. They educate their children to be happy.
Great parents don’t educate their children to be rich, but rather to be happy; to seek to become men and women of value, not of success. So that when they grow up, they realize the value of things and not their price…
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ~ John Lennon
10. They inspire their children to treat all living beings with respect, love, and compassion.
Through their wise words and living examples, they teach their children to treat all living beings with respect, love, kindness, and compassion. And they help them understand that just as their parents are worthy of their love and affection, so is the whole world.
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.” ~ George Washington Carver
11. Great parents encourage their children to honor their authenticity.
They encourage their children to honor their authenticity and uniqueness. To stay true to themselves at all times and to never trim themselves to suit those around them – even if that means “offending” some people.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
