Parents often want to know how they can make their children behave or be ‘good’.

Parents want to know how to get their children to make their bed or bring their washing down or hurry up getting ready for school or come in for dinner on time. A lot of what we hear is ‘how children can be controlled?’ The media is always talking about naughty kids, hoodies, out of control teenagers and many TV hours are devoted to dealing with difficult children.

What is sometimes missing is the part about just having a good time, just relaxing, going to the park, making a cake together, watching a film, playing games, talking, cuddling, saying I like you and I love you and I want to spend time with you, playing cards, kicking leaves, walking, having a hot chocolate, snuggling on the sofa.

These things are so much more important than all of the attention put onto making children behave or be ‘good’.

If we have fun times with our children, if we talk to them and listen to them, if we build their self-esteem and show them that they are loved and valued then they will turn out to be ‘good’. If they respect us and we are good role models they can learn how to make good decisions. Sometimes things are not as complicated as they seem, as the Beatles said “All You Need Is Love”