It’s that time of year when we celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. It makes me pause to think about parenting and what children need emotionally from their parents. The physical needs of shelter, food, water, and clothing are a given. But what else do we need to think about as we shape children’s growing brains and personalities? Parenting is a massive responsibility with many challenges and many rewards and there are no perfect parents or families. Most parents want to do the best job possible and it behooves us to take a minute to think about our parenting values.

I write from the position of being a mental health provider for 40-plus years; I have treated thousands of children. I also write from the humble perspective of being an imperfect parent, as we all are, but always wanting to be better at this magnificent and sometimes overwhelming job.

To condense highly important parenting values is a challenge and even a bit presumptuous, I know. I take my lead from my research and writing about narcissism and narcissistic parenting. It guides me to work backward and think about what would be important for a parent to know so they don’t raise a narcissist. Narcissists are unhappy people with a very fragile ego, who can cause pain and chaos in relationships, so that’s a reasonable place to start.

When we think about what kind of human beings we want to raise, looking at our values is important. Although not an exhaustive list, let’s look at some top priorities.

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QOSHE - What Do Children Need From Their Parents? - Karyl Mcbride Ph.d
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What Do Children Need From Their Parents?

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14.05.2024

It’s that time of year when we celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. It makes me pause to think about parenting and what children need emotionally from their parents. The physical needs of shelter, food, water, and clothing are a given. But what else do we need to think about as we shape children’s growing brains and personalities? Parenting is a massive responsibility with many challenges and many........

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