Being a parent

Becoming a parent does not come with an instruction manual for all the things you will face. It is one of the most important and difficult things you can do as well as one of the most rewarding. To raise a child is an enormous responsibility which is usually taken for granted and for which there is little training. Most parents learn as they go, influenced by the way they were brought up or by what they have read or watched others do.

Parenting styles may be different but we all share a common goal. We want our children to turn into healthy, happy, well adjusted, successful, honest, caring, responsible adults who will be respectful of others feelings and property, be able to get along with others and be able to cope with difficulties!! It is a lot to ask. Your children and your community rely on you to do this well.
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See also Parenting Tipsheets Being a Dad, Being a Mum, Families that work well, What about parents rights?

Teenage parents

There are lots of good things about being a young parent but there can also be extra problems. There are times when you might still feel you would like to have someone to take care of you. There will be other times when you want to be free to do what you like without the responsibility of a child. It will make a difference if you are on your own with your child, or if you have a partner. It will make a difference if you have the blessing and practical support of your family or feel unsupported by family and friends. These things can make it much easier or much harder to be a teenage parent. Being a parent is one of the most difficult things you can do, but it is the most important – and it can be fun.
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See also Parenting Tipsheets Single parenting, Self-esteem, Discipline – Teens, Right from the start

Being a dad

There are lots of different kinds of dads. Whether you are in a two-parent nuclear family, in a stepfamily, have fulltime care as a single parent or have your children with you for some of the time, being a dad is your most important job. In the past fathers were often the ones who were responsible for discipline and setting rules and mothers did most of the caring. While parenting can be done by either parent, children still have different experiences with their fathers than with their mothers.

Children are lucky if they have a dad who is really involved in their lives, who knows their friends and is interested in how they spend their day.  It really helps if they know that they are loved and cared for by both parents.
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See also Parenting Tipsheets Single parenting, Being a parent, Stepfamilies, and After the break-up

Being a mum

‘Mum’. The small word carries a big meaning for most of us. That meaning partly depends on how we feel about out own mothers and grandmothers and also what our communities expect of mothers. We each have different pictures in our heads about how we should be, or want to be, as a mother. Most mothers learn as they go, influenced by the way they were brought up or by what they have read or watched others do. The job that mothers do of shaping and influencing the life of another human being must surely be the most important thing that anyone can do. 
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See also Parenting Tipsheet  Being a parent

Stepfamilies

Building a new family is an exciting but challenging time. It needs a lot of time, energy and hard work. There are many different kinds of stepfamilies and each will have different strengths to build on and difficulties to overcome.
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See also Parenting Tipsheets Thinking divorce?, Family break-up, Being a Dad, Families that work well, Being a Mum, After the break-up