The Bumper Stickers

The Fifty-Three Parenting Tips Bumper Stickers

1. Support children's healthy development by listening attentively and responding thoughtfully.

2. Praising children's effort, behavior, and achievement sincerely and appropriately supports their healthy development.

3. Using the best manners and training children to follow your example supports their healthy development.

4. Support children's healthy development by expressing your love for them in little ways. Kisses, hugs, caresses, and smiles can often communicate feelings as effectively as words.

5. Reducing and monitoring children's screen time supports their healthy development.

6. Making children aware of their strengths and not drawing attention to their weaknesses supports their healthy development.

7. Setting good examples for children supports their healthy development.

8. Raise kind, thoughtful children by modeling selflessness, empathy, and altruism.

9. Assigning children age-appropriate chores beginning when they’re old enough to pick up their toys and continuing this practice until they leave home supports their healthy development.

10. Establishing a code of conduct supports children's healthy development. If you don’t, they will adopt one that may endanger their lives and the lives of others.

11. Finding suitable alternatives to corporal punishment supports children's healthy development.

12. Support children's healthy development by never telling them they're stupid, ugly, good-for-nothing, worthless, etc.

13. Support children's healthy development by not excusing or making excuses for their poor behavior.

14.    Children need to be able to accept "No" for an answer, so parents teach them that in most cases they only answer questions once.

15. Checking children’s homework regularly and being there for them when they need help with schoolwork and projects supports their healthy development.

16. Support children's healthy development by not making derogatory remarks about them to other people while in their presence.

17. Support children's healthy development by reading, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. rather than watching television while they do their homework.

18. Orienting children toward the future and preparing them for its challenges supports their healthy development.

19. Support children's healthy development by allowing them to experience the logical consequences of their actions...if it's safe.
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20. Support children's healthy development by introducing them to the arts, encouraging them to participate, and supporting their efforts.

21. Protecting children from physical, sexual, verbal, and psychological abuse supports their healthy development.

22. Support children's healthy development by not comparing siblings. In other words, don’t say, “Why can’t you be more like your sister?”

23. Support children's healthy development by avoiding words like these, “You’re just like your no-good jailbird cousin!”

24.    When parents/caregivers hear these words...Can I watch?  Can I help? Can I do it? They say yes, if it’s safe.

25. Holding education, hard work, and achievement in the highest esteem supports children's healthy development.

26. Support children's healthy development by not lying for them.

27. Taking children to the library regularly supports their healthy development.

28. Asking children to do something and making sure it gets done in a timely manner supports their healthy development.

29. Avoiding bribery supports children's healthy development.

30. Support children's healthy development by teaching them that an emergency is the only reason they may interrupt a conversation.

31. Speaking quietly and teaching children to speak quietly supports their healthy development.

32. Support children's healthy development by not labeling them...the irresponsible one, the wild one, the talented one, the smart one, the lazy one, etc.

33. Playing catch together. Doing yard work together.  Shopping together. Washing the car together. Going for bike rides together.  Cooking together.  Shampooing the dog together. Playing board games together, etc. supports children's healthy development.

34. Teaching children to pick up after themselves supports their healthy development.

35. Having bedtimes for children supports their healthy development.

36. Reading to small children daily beginning when they are infants supports their healthy development.

37. Having high expectations for children's effort, behavior, and achievement supports their healthy development.

38. Allowing children to make mistakes and seeing to it they learn from them supports their healthy development.

39. Teaching children problem-solving skills, first by example, then by guided practice supports their healthy development.

40. Support children's healthy development by protecting them from corrupt media. That is television, movies, and games that portray base, vulgar, or gratuitously violent behavior.

41. Introducing children to media that portrays honesty, sacrifice, loyalty, perseverance, modesty, love, humility, courage, courtesy, respect, and reverence supports their healthy development.

42. Involving children in sports and group activities supports their healthy development.

43. Support children's healthy development by knocking before entering so as not to interrupt their dressing. The popular notion that children’s bedrooms are their private property is dangerous nonsense.

44. Support children's healthy development by not fighting or arguing with your partner in front of them, if it’s the kind of thing that would frighten the average child.

45. Taking children along when you volunteer, give blood, contribute to a food bank, make donations, etc. supports their healthy development.

46. Instilling in children the belief that success in life is due to hard work rather than luck or inherited traits supports their healthy development.

47. Teaching children how to do things for themselves rather than doing everything for them supports their healthy development.

48. Agreeing on reasonable consequences and carrying them out when it's called for supports children's healthy development.

49. Having children save up or earn money for things they desire supports their healthy development.

50. Support children's healthy development by rejecting drug and alcohol abuse. Children need moms and dads who aren't a source of embarrassment, shame, stress, and violence.

51. Support young ones' healthy development by teaching them about their bodies, their right to say no, and how abusers use friendship, secrets, and threats to hurt children.

52. Allowing children to make age-appropriate decisions supports their healthy development.

53. Support children's healthy development by not asking unnecessary questions that give them the opportunity to normalize lying.

* Parenting tips may not be appropriate for children with special needs.