Parenting

I myself have no children. Not yet anyway. But I am learning loads from watching my siblings and parents with my nieces and nephew. Here is a little bit of what I've learned so far:
Good parenting starts young. Small children know and understand more than we give them credit for. My two year old nephew knows when he's doing something wrong, and knows that he has a choice between the wrong action and a timeout. Consistency!!!
Parenting should be about giving choices. When a child misbehaves, give them a choice between good behavior and a punishment. They choose what the outcome will be. If they misbehave, follow through.
Tell them what you want them to do instead of "no". If someone shouted "no" repeatedly at you, what would you do? Would you know what to stop doing? Instead, if a small child, say 1-3ish is rough with someone else, tell them to be soft or nice. Show them what it means to be nice or soft so they know what you're asking them to do.
Reprimand, but show an increase of love afterwards. This piece of knowledge is scripturally based as well. In Doctrine and Covenants 121:43 (In the LDS church this is a book of scripture) it states, "Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;" After reprimanding a child, they should know that we still love them, but dislike the action.
Think about the end goal. Is your goal to raise good people or have slaves? Requiring strict obedience can cause problems. No one is perfect and in early stages of life, children are trying to figure out how to operate in society. We are here to instruct them how to do that. Life does not require strict obedience and is never fair.
"Life's not fair and neither am I." This is something I heard from my mother often. Life isn't fair. Older children will have more privileges because they have more capabilities. Younger children will get more attention because they have fewer capabilities. Middle children often see this as unfair on both ends and think that they don't get as much as the other children for various reasons. I'm still learning what to do about this one...
Comparisons will never bring happiness. My nieces often use the sentence opener, "She's lucky because..." but if this pattern of thinking continues, they will always think of themselves as a victim and never see the good things they have in their lives. We started using a new opener whenever this one arises, "I'm grateful for..." and they fill in the blank. This way, they are focused on the positive side of life and realize that it doesn't matter what others have because they are so blessed.
Love. Love does not mean that you give children everything they want because the ask for it. It means you give them what they need to become capable people. That means correction. It may hurt to hear a child cry after you've reprimanded them, but it is for their good. Proverbs 22:6 states, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Give children what they need. Boundaries, limits, discipline, and correction are all necessary to training them up in the way they should go both spiritually and temporally. If you love a child, you will do what is best for it.
Parenting is not easy. But it can be made easier when started early.

I still have much to learn, but I am so grateful for the chance to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of others. It will greatly benefit my future children.