Every parent wants the best for their child – no argument about that; Therefore, some of us work hard to be able to buy them all kinds of toys and sweets. Others insist on discipline in order to instill in their children high aspirations, while others give them absolute freedom of choice and allow them to grow through personal experience. In short, each family has their own ways of raising and nurturing children, but there is something common to almost all parents of older children: when they look back, each one would like to correct at least some of the mistakes they’ve made in the past. Just before you reach this point, you should know the nine regrets experienced parents often have and learn how to avoid them.
<3span style="color: rgb(23, 23, 23); text-align: right;">Your young child - who grew up quickly from a small baby to an independent person - needs constant, steady and lasting contact with people in general and with his or her dear parents in particular, and you as parents need it just as much. True, you may not always have the time for it, and it's okay if occasionally you try to distract your child with other things (classes, friends, etc.), but if you turn these distractions into a habit, at some point you’ll find that you have little to no relationship with your child. Remember that there is no way to turn back time and make up what you lost with your child, so try not only to be close to them in the physical sense, but also in the mental and emotional sense, and really enjoy the time you share together.
In a study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in 2014, it was shown that hugs have a positive effect on health - both mental and physical. A hug, in general, has plenty of obvious and understandable benefits, but we’re sure you'll agree that there's nothing like hugging your own child. Sometimes, there are parents who refrain from doing this, or rarely do so for one reason or another - some related to different parental perceptions and attitudes - but this is a mistake, because in time your child will grow up and when you want to hug them and show them, love, they won’t be open to this display of affection. So, enjoy the possibility of hugging and showing love to your child as long as you can and as there’s lots to say about hugging’s benefits on everyone involved!
Nothing bad will actually happen if you don’t take tons of pictures of your child - it won’t affect their mental development, behavior or values, and with the excess of photographs and pictures we are exposed to today in the many social networks - it isn’t the worse thing if you aren’t spending every second taking pictures of your child. However, it is likely that in the future you’ll want to recall some of the more significant moments of your life and want to share your feelings with your adult child, so you should pull out the camera at least once in a while to keep those moments forever. True, you probably won’t watch the fireworks display you filmed on the Fourth of July, but you’ll definitely want to remember the first steps your child took, and photo albums - whether digital or printed - are still the best way to keep these meaningful memories together.
We’re not saying that your child won’t be talented in the arts if you don’t play creative games with them, but if you do, there is a higher chance of them developing skills in these areas. When you give your child the opportunity to be involved in many thought-provoking activities, you can find out what really interests them and where they are most skilled, and work with them accordingly. Beyond that, any type of role-playing activity, whether it involves reading aloud or imaginative play with toys, helps develop your child's intelligence, imagination, and vocabulary, and this alone is a good reason to do so. Experienced veteran parents often regret not noticing their child's talent in time, although they could have done so at a very young age. It is therefore recommended that you give your child the chance to experience as many thought-provoking games as possible.
It's okay to scold your child from time to time when they are doing something bad, but it's quite another matter to constantly be on top of them. There is a myth that the higher the expectations you have of a child, the more successful they’ll become – however, if you place unrealistic expectations on your children, you may actually have the opposite effect: behavioral problems and developmental problems, and of course the deterioration of your relationship. For example, you should know that punishing a child for bad grades is harmful and destructive as all it serves to do is ruin your child’s self-confidence and bring down future performance. Punish and reward your child only for things that really matter, for real values that you want to instill in them, and not for things such as external scores and assessments.
There is something offensive and unpleasant about the number of times a small child hears from his/her parents phrases such as "you’re too young to decide" or "the adults know better"; however, unpleasant feelings aren’t the worse thing in this case. Children whose parents ignore their thoughts and don’t listen to them may become insecure adults. In fact, it makes perfect sense: How can you know what you want from life if there is always someone telling you your opinions are wrong? Which is why you should try to give your child the freedom to choose and express their views; It is better to deal with their demands, talk about their desires and explain things to them, than to ignore and make decisions for them all the time. 
Beautiful memories from our childhood are one of the most valued things that no one can take away from us. If a child grows up in a healthy environment where his/her parents try their best to make them happy, content with their lot, and a life full of new experiences, it means that the child will develop actively and correctly; In various studies, children who perceive themselves as happy find it easier to adapt to adulthood and to start new relationships. Therefore, it is recommended that you enjoy as much time as possible with your child and always think about how you can make their life more interesting; Make sure that your child experiences as many happy moments in their life as possible.
Some people like to hand out advice even if they’re wrong or the advice just isn’t fitting of the situation, and unfortunately, young parents are usually inclined to be misled by them. Although most people just want to share their experience, the best advice we can give is: Take it all with a grain of salt – at the end of the day you’re the parents, and you know better than everyone what’s good for your child and what’s not. Of course, you can listen and take peoples advice into consideration, but you don’t need to follow or stick to every piece of it. one more thing - don’t let strangers scold your children for their behavior; If this happens, you should take your child aside and make it clear to them that you’re backing them up, no matter what happened.
There are things that seem marginal to us, but for children, they are very important, and all of us - especially our children – need a close loved one beside us in these moments. Therefore, even if you have good reason to be absent from your child’s special event - try with all your might not to miss it. If your business trip clashes with your child's birthday, or you have an important meeting exactly when your child is graduating- don’t hesitate to try and move things around so that you can be present in the significant moments of his or her life. If you don’t, then in the future you may be sorry when you look back at some important moments in your child's life you missed.
