Being a parent is a tough job and requires you to be responsible. That’s because you have to take care of someone’s life.
Simply put, being someone’s parent is not something you can do willy-nilly. It takes maturity and complete awareness of the following rights and responsibilities:
1. Providing Financial Support
Financial support is one of the most significant responsibilities that a parent has to fulfill for their children. It doesn’t matter whether the child is in your custody or not.
Financial support is an investment for the child’s upbringing and their day-to-day life. That’s why in court, when one parent has custody over the kids, the other parent who doesn’t can still be liable to pay child support. It is the least that people can expect from their parents.
2. Enforcing Filial Accountability
There’s an ongoing argument between nature and nurture, and it is most apparent when you are raising a child.
Sometimes, it’s challenging to understand which traits they have because you enabled them and which ones are innately theirs. With that said, sometimes, these traits and behavior aren’t the most positive ones.
That’s why as parents, whether it’s through nurture or it’s their nature, you must hold your child accountable for their actions. And you need to do so maturely and calmly.
It would be best to teach them the concept of good and bad deeds and their consequences. Yet, you should also let your kids know that you are on their side, no matter what.
3. Providing. Necessities
When you are responsible for your children, love is not enough to ensure that they grow right and remain well in all aspects.
It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that their kids always have the necessities in life to flourish. These necessities are shelter, food, medical care, clothing, and so on.
If you’re considering being a parent, remember that it’s a huge responsibility. If you can barely manage your necessities, it will be even more challenging to help your kids get everything they need to grow.
However, even if you have difficulty achieving these necessities, as long as you do your best to provide them for your kids, it should be sufficient.
4. Keeping Them Safe
Parents should keep their children safe from all sorts of harm, whether it be physical, emotional, or sexual. It can be challenging for parents not to be so paranoid over their children’s safety, especially for those who are a bit older.
However, you must find that fine line between allowing your children to grow and keeping them safe from harm.
Open communication and dialogue with your kids is an excellent way of letting your kids know that they should be free to tell you anything.
5. Child’s Legal Representative
When you have a child under the legal age based on where you’re from, that means that they are under your responsibility.
Whatever they do will fall under your responsibility, and you will serve as the child’s legal representative. That means that any official acts are yours to handle and not theirs.
For example, if your child, even if they’re 14 or 16 years of age, causes damage, you will have to shoulder the costs. Many criminal lawyers would like to remind parents that as long as the child is 16 years old or younger, the parents will be liable for anything they do.
6. Decisions on Medical Treatment
When your child needs to undergo any treatment, the institution and healthcare personnel should consult you on the matter. Again, the child has no legal responsibility, so that any official business will fall under your hands for the time being.
Your medical responsibilities also apply outside of the doctor’s office. After all, you are your child’s protector, and it’s also your responsibility to notice when things aren’t right, and make sure that they receive the care they need in those instances.
Sometimes, this task will be as easy as recognizing an illness and acting from there, but as you likely already know, parenthood and its responsibilities aren’t always so clear cut. Mental health struggles, in particular, are prevalent in around one in five teens, and they aren’t always easy to spot. Your ability to recognize such problems and seek the best possible mental health professionals could make a huge difference to recovery. Equally, 5% of children struggle with communication and speech in some way, an issue that they’ll be entirely unable to share with you. It’s down to you to notice the problem and seek a diagnosis, which may then lead you on a path to treating communication disorders or at least better understanding the underlying problem. In these instances and more, recognizing and addressing health problems ensures that you are always the advocate that your child needs you be.
Remember to think of your kids’ overall welfare and don’t panic too much should the time come when your kid needs to get medical treatment.
7. Providing Education
No matter which means you want to go, it is also the parents’ responsibility to educate their kids.
It doesn’t have to be on the school grounds if that’s something you don’t want. Many people have thrived and grown with homeschooling. Therefore, you might want to consider your options.
Once your kids are of age, remember to consult with them and ask them their preferences. After all, this is their education.
8. Right to Enter Into A Contract
There are few cases when a minor can legally get into a deal, but most of the time, it’s for essentials.
In this case, the parent can sign a contract on behalf of their child. Most of the time, this happens in the showbiz industry for young child actors.
If you must have your child sign a contract, make sure that you read through it. Your priority should be the safety and security of your children.
Conclusion
These are but a few of the more tangible and official rights and responsibilities of parents over their children.
If you want to be a parent, make sure that you know what society expects from you and what your kids deserve.
As long as you care for your kids, you should be able to accept the responsibilities easily. However, do know that it doesn’t make these responsibilities any more manageable, even if you accept it.
Remember to do all these for your kids so that you can give them a better chance at living a good life.
