There are hundreds of books about having kids. And there are millions of rules to follow (according to some "experts").

But for my wife and me there is only ONE rule, and so far it worked out really well for us. And the best thing is: you definitely won't disagree with us, but it's not so obvious either to understand the whole concept. Are you ready?

You as a parent will make mistakes.

That's it. Just this simple line, that's obviously true for every mum and dad out there. But what does it mean?

It means that...

1) ... there's always space for improvement, because not all of your decisions are 100% correct.

2) ... it's no problem if you sometimes make a wrong decision. That's what every human being does every day.

3) ... you sometimes have to change things, when you're on the wrong track.

4) ... you have to apologize every now and then to your child.

Let's have a closer look:

First: No matter which guidelines you decide to apply as a parent, there's always a difference between the perfect vision in your head and reality. Maybe you want your child to be a great athlete/scientist/musician/etc. or you've decided that your children should be free and do whatever they like. Think about your parental guidelines and your vision, think about reality (which is probably somehow related to your vision) and then read the phrase: As a parent I make mistakes!

Second: Don't feel bad if you make a decision that you think is wrong (like giving your kids too much chocolate or letting them watch TV for hours). Only because a decision has some obviously negative consequences (like eating too much sugar) doesn't mean that there could also be some positive consequences attached to it. Don't be afraid of errors and mistakes. You will make them anyway :-)

Third: Changing things is always an option. Once again: no matter which plan you have worked out to improve things, your plan has a lot of errors and mistakes (just like anything else you do). So don't expect a perfect outcome to your imperfect plan.

Fourth: Gain the respect of your child. Establish a truly deep connection with your child. Teach your child core values to prepare it for a happy and successful life. For all of these points it is crucial that you look your child in the eyes and say: "sorry, I was wrong" whenever you realize that you made a mistake. Fun fact: many parents have never ever said "sorry" to their children in their whole life.