Are you a better parent to your children than your parents were to you?

Question

Are you a better parent to your children than your parents were to you?

Answer 1

I hope yes. My mother still refuses to talk to me since I left home at 16. She hasn't even seen my 10 month old daughter or talked to me in over 2 years.  

Answer 2

Not sure, everyone does his best, but  only time shows if we are successful or not. They definitely tried their best and I definitely try my best but this is as far as I know.

Answer 3

its going to take some beating aunty sparkles

i have a good mum and i hope i will be a good mum

Answer 4

What does "better" mean?

Do the kids I care for get things I didn't?  Yes.  Are there things I got that they don't?  Yup.

All of us come out of our upbringing with some kind of hole in our heart; it seems to be an inevitable part of the human condition.  As parents, we do the absolute best we can with what we've got at the time and hope like heck the arrow was aimed straight before we have to release it.

Answer 5

I think this is a tough question to answer because times have changed SO much, you can’t compare me as a mother now to my child to when my mother raised me as a child. So many things were different back then versus now. Different issues that are bigger issues than they were back then. The internet and joy of sexual predators, Myspace, Facebook, etc….none of that existed when I was a kid. Kids grow up a lot faster nowadays…..

So my answer is I’m not a better mother to my kids than my mother was to me. It’s a different type of mother. I was raised by her so of course I still have a good portion of morals and values that I learned from her, so clearly some of our ways of thinking will be similar. But to say I’m better than her? No, I won’t go there. She was a d**n good mother and I know I am too….we’re just different in how we do things!

Answer 6

my parents ?? gave us to an aunt and uncle to bring up whilst they solved there marital problems... it was great living in a loving home with these people... then mother decided to have us back and we lived with her and her new fella and then rarely saw our father..  except at visiting times and when mother needed cash from him.....

mother had a temper and it was viscious.. dad had a new wife and a garden to look after

we were on there list somewhere -- i didnt like my mothers new man... and hero worshipped a distant father.........

Then I got pregnant and then married and two or three more kids later got divorced.... during my time as a mother to my kids they CAME FIRST AND ALWAYS WILL... they knew i loved them and they loved me.... they were not spoilt and life was not idyillic but we were together - now they have flown the nest and life again is lonely but thats life..............

Answer 7

Definately. My mother was murdered when I was 4 and I came to live with my dad and step-mom....My step-mom treated me like garabage...I was her maid, baby sitter and everything else...I was never aloud to go anywhere or do anything...I could not be in sports or clubs....and I would never do that to my kids ever....My son is 4 and he starts soccer today!

Answer 8

yes i believe in the old saying YOU SHOW ME A PARENT THAT CARES AND I WILL SHOW YOU A SUCCESSFUL CHILD and i am 49 i have raised all 3 to be extremely successful good question

Answer 9

I should bloody hope sooo

Answer 10

My parents were, in my opinion, excellent.  I pray that I come close to being as good a parent as they were when my daughter arrives!  I don't know if I could possibly be better.

Answer 11

I'm not a parent but considering I'm kinda selfish because of life experiences, I don't think i'd make a better parent than my folks...even though I was hoping the opposite.

Answer 12

My parents were great. My mom was very creative at finding alternative punishments that really made us think. She also made things like cleaning etc. fun, she was a lot of fun. And my father had a great deal of patience. He was not a yeller which helps. He also lead by example, which I try very hard to do myself as a mother.

The only way I am better is that my mom left my dad and moved away with my step dad. She still stayed invloved, but I would NEVER do that to my kids. But she was a very good mother before she left and after I suppose, but how can you be an active mother 2 sates away.

I stayed with my dad when they divorced and I find myself relying on my fathers example time and time again, I am very grateful for both of them. I rely on my moms creativity as well, I use the same methods on my kids.

And they by the time they were 20 and 22 they had 3 of us. So they were young when they started but they were wonderful parents and loved us alot. My mom use to read to us as a family every night and then my dad would play his guitar and we would all sing together, sounds a bit corny, but I cherish those memories now.

Answer 13

I don't really remember what my parents were like when I was my child's age. I do see a but of resemblance to their parenting styles though, but hopefully I can keep a marriage together and not be distracted by boyfriends from the time my child is 8 years old onwards, maybe that in itself will make me a better mother than she is. She still doesn't pay any attention to me OR her grandchild, she gave me $200,000 instead.

Answer 14

Absolutely.  I get down on the floor and play with my kids, I read to them daily, I consider their feelings and offer them far more patience and encouragement than I ever got.  I'm not saying my mother was a bad parent.  It's just that she was widowed with 5 children, of whom I am  the youngest.  She simply didn't have the resources that I do.

Answer 15

My parents were the best ever.  try to follow their teachings with lots of hugs and I love you.  It is so important to hear this.  I was taught from the best.

Answer 16

Im 16weeks pregnant and I don't think I'm going to be as good as my mother and father were to me, but if I'm a tenth of what they were then my child will be extremely happy, healthy and lucky.

My parents were fantastic at bringing myself and my brother up. We were thought right from wrong, we were thought to work hard and we will be rewarded, we were thought to be kind, understanding and above all honest in every aspect of life. They gave up alot to bring us up properly, they sacrificed so much that can never be returned. They always had time for us no matter what.

My mother died four years ago, I'm now 24 and expecting my first child. And my father is still looking out for me. Hes very open and understanding and I know that I can ask him for any help or advice I need.

I'm very independent and mature, moved out of home at 16, work very hard and as a result have a good life style with my partner.

But I know ill always have my father to turn to if anything ever goes wrong. I know he is there all the time for me. I know how much I am loved by him. I know he would do anything to protect me.

I hope my child looks up to me a fraction of the amount I look up to my Dad x*x

Answer 17

Not necessarily. I think I'm a better parents as in I don't spank my kids as much as I was spanked. My mom is a better housekeeper than I am, so I grew up in a cleaner house than my kids. (Not that my house is dirty, just not as clean as my parents) My parents only had 1 child, I'm pregnant with my 3rd. I believe I have more patience than my parents. Hope this helps.

Answer 18

I suppose I was but now I am a better Grand parent than I was a mother because you learn from your mistakes.

Answer 19

yes thank goodness  

Answer 20

Well my mom was great-but my dad was not.  I made sure that I married a man who was going to be a great dad-and he is.  So yes, I would say that he is a better parent than my dad was to me.  

Answer 21

I really don't know. You like to think you are- when I was a kid, I always used to say 'well, I'm never gonna smack my children, I'll let them do this and that' but when you have your own, you know what they were feeling. I've never hit my children, and in that respect, maybe I am better, maybe I'm not. I have honestly never thought of that before really. It's so weird.