What did your parents do right?

[luckylady74]

I've been thinking a lot about how I parent and what I'd like to change. My parents weren't perfect, but I've decided to emulate what they did do right and I was wondering what others thought their parents did right?

My Mum loved us unconditionally when we were small.Never shouted or smacked. Instilled a love of reading and was never materialistic.
When I was a young teen she took me to the ladies only swim sessions on saturday morning and for a bacon sandwich afterwards -special time!My dad was less involved, but did have a sense of humour.

my father left; my mother pulled out all the stops to make sure i got everything she could physically give me - she was (is)extraordinary.

Somehow my neurotic and depressed mother and sulky and repressed father managed to give me:
a sense of the importance of being yourself and an individual.
a love of reading and and a good understanding of the english language.
a reasonably sized non-conformist streak
non-materialistic values
a liberal outlook on life
an analytical mind.

Not bad really. Am sitting on hands to avoid typing the negatives

My father was kind and patient and never judged (well, except for the time I called the priest rude names ). He always brought me breakfast in bed and got up earlier than everyone else to light the fires to warm up the house (no central heating - scary!). He was the best. I would love to be as relaxed, tolerant and gentle as him.

I really know what youmean about sitting on hands to not write the negatives tigana, this is a positive first for me and hopefully I'll be a little more tolerant of my mother when I next speak to her!
My inability to feel inferior in terms of intellectual ability is another thing I hadn't thought of - thanks glitterfairy.

Agree lucklady and tigana, I had a brilliant childhood, until it all fell apart when mum got ill, so am trying to focus on that part of it and ignore what came later.

Ooh now I'm worried - is ignoring the crap stuff possible?

Well, it all goes in the mix doesn't it? The good and the bad - after all, our kids will have to cope with both our positive inputs and our failings, won't they?

The thing I value most in my mum is her open-hearted attitude to anyone. When I was little (5 years) I used to just bring friends home for tea without even asking her and she never turned them away! (Shows my age a bit - it doesn't quite happen like that now. In fact, I'm pretty scared of having my DS's friends home 'cos manners etc ain't what they used to be.) She's always treated my close friends like part of the family - doesn't know what 'like' means, only 'love'. I'd like to follow her example in that.