Parenting is one of the most difficult things you can do, and it is a highly pressurized, one chance only environment where mistakes can have drastic consequences.  As a parent, it is your responsibility to guide your child through his physical and mental development, whilst encouraging a sense of morality, justice and decency.  At the same time you need to devote a tremendous degree of care and attention to your child to avoid compromising his safety and security.  Parenting can be a difficult juggle-act to maintain, particularly if you also work and have other commitments.

One of the most important aspect of parenting is spending the right amount of time with your child.  It is important not to entirely isolate your child, but it is also important not to follow your child every moment of the day.  Your child needs to develop a sense of independent thought as well as social skills in equal measure to survive in the real world.  Encourage your child to think through problems at an early age, and ask your child to think about situations that have occurred.  This will help create an understanding and perception of the world from an early age which will only grow and develop with your child.

Another vital aspect of caring for your child is effective discipline.  The days of discipline equating to vicious beatings are thankfully coming to an end.  There are many alternative forms of discipline that don't involve violence, or that involve mild violence as a deterrent rather than beatings with a cane or belt.  One of the most effective ways by far is the token economy, that is to say, for example, withholding toys as a punishment for bad behavior.  This acts as a strong off-putting factor for the child, and is a great way of ensuring discipline.  Provided you act consistently and always follow through your threats, you're child will do all in his power to avoid this drastic measure.  This is clearly a more beneficial option than physical abuse, which teaches the child that violence is a good approach to solving problems.

There are seldom any right and wrong answers in parenting, and it is really a case of instinct and logic when thinking about what's best for the child.  In any event, this should be the central concern, and should be the starting point for all parenting ideas and concepts, to ensure a healthy and happy child through their teenage years to adulthood.