Top 10 Inspirational Stories about Parenting Every Parent Should Read

One day, my 2-year-old son bumped his head on the table due to carelessness. He cried loudly for a while. I walked out of the room and approached the table, asking loudly, “Hey! Table, who hurt you and made you cry so much?”

He stopped crying and looked at me with tears on his face. I stroked the table and asked, “Who made you hurt like this?”

My son looked at me and said, “Oh, it was me, Dad.” I said, “Have you apologized to the table?” He said, “I'm sorry,” and bowed to the table. Since then, he has learned to take responsibility.

Walking across a bridge with my 5-year-old son, he saw the clear water below and said, “The water looks beautiful! I want to jump into the river and swim.”

I was a bit surprised, but then I said, “Alright, I'll jump with you, but first, we need to go home and change clothes.” After returning home and changing clothes, he noticed a basin of water.

I said to him, “Hey, when you swim, do you have to put your face under the water?” He nodded, and I said, “You need to try to see how long you can keep your face under the water.”

Just 10 seconds later, he lifted his face out of the water and said, “I feel breathless in the water, not very comfortable.”

“Well, if you jump into the river, you'll feel even worse.”

“Dad, then we won't jump into the river anymore,” my son replied.

“Alright, we won't do that.”

Since then, my son has learned to be cautious and think twice before any daring actions.

One day, my 3-year-old started crying for no reason. I asked, “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”.

“No,” the little boy said.

“Then why are you crying again? Dad doesn’t mind if you cry, but you should find an appropriate place to cry, so you won’t bother others. After you finish crying, let mom or dad know, then you can go outside.”

I left him in the bathroom. Two minutes later, he knocked on the door and said, “Dad, I finished crying.” Then he was allowed to go outside and play.

Now, my son is 18 years old and he doesn’t let his emotions affect others or vent his anger on them.

One day, my 8-year-old son had a scuffle with a classmate and came home crying. He felt his classmate was wrong and responded with anger.

“What are you planning to do? Do you want Dad to help you?” I asked him.

“Dad, find me a brick, I want to throw them at them from behind tomorrow,” he said.

“Dad knows, Dad can find it for you. Anything else?”

“Dad, get me a stick, I can hit them from behind,” he requested.

“Alright! This way you can vent your anger. Dad can get it for you,” I said.

I went upstairs to get everything ready. My son seemed a bit calmer. About 20 minutes later, I brought lots of clothes and blankets.

“Son, have you thought it through, brick or stick?”

“But Dad, why did you bring so many clothes and blankets?”

“Son, here’s the thing, if you hit him with a brick, the police will arrest us for about a month in jail, so we have to bring some coats and blankets. If you hit him with a stick, we’ll have to be in jail for at least three years, in that case, we need to prepare clothes for all four seasons, right? That’s the law. So, if you've made up your mind, Dad is ready to support you!”

“Dad, we haven’t done anything yet, right?!” my son replied.

“But son, you seem very angry about it,” I said.

“Oh, Dad, I won't be angry anymore and actually, I was wrong,” my son blushed.

“Alright, Dad supports you!”

Since then, my son has learned to make the right choices and consider the consequences.

When my son was 6 years old, we passed by a McDonald's after school.

“Dad, McDonald's over there!”, he said. “Oh, McDonald's! You want something, right? It's easy, if you want something, go out and figure out how to get it. Anyone can do that. But if you can manage your desires and not buy it, you'll be a hero. Do you want to be just normal or a hero?”.

He answered: “A hero”.

“Are you sure about that, son?”, I said.

“Dad, I really want to be a hero”, he said.

“Alright, hero, let's go home!”, I replied.

Since then, my son has learned how to control his desires and not fall into temptation.

My 9-year-old son failed his 4th-grade math test and became discouraged. “How could this happen? I failed math“.

“Because you dislike your math teacher, her class is so boring“.

“Is that so? Dad wants to know more“. I found it fascinating.

He said a lot, but ultimately, his teacher didn't like him.

“Oh, I see. When someone likes you, you like them back, when she doesn't like you, you dislike her too. Are you a proactive person or a passive one?“.

“A passive one!“, my son answered.

“Are you weak or just an ordinary person? A gentleman or just normal?“, I continued to ask.

“I'm weak and just a regular person!“, my son replied.

“A gentleman. Son, now you know! Whether the teacher likes you or not, you can like her, respect her, and be a strong person“.

The next day, my son happily went to school. Since then, his math skills have improved, and he has learned the difference between a gentleman and an ordinary person.

At the age of 10, my son was obsessed with gaming, no matter how much I talked to him about it, he wouldn't listen, so I pointed at the computer and asked him: “Son, do you play this every day?”

My son admitted with a bowed head: “Yes, dad.”

I continued: “How do you feel after each gaming session?”

He replied: “Fuzzy, empty, self-blaming, self-deprecating…”

I asked again: “So why do you keep playing? Is it because you can't resist?”

My son helplessly said: “Yes, dad.”

I brought the computer over, handed him a hammer, and said: “Alright! Dad's here to help you! Son, smash it!”

My son exclaimed in shock: “Dad?!”

I told him: “Smash it, son, dad may not have a computer, but he can't be without you!”

Finally, my son cried and smashed the computer with his own hands.

Since then, my son has understood what principles are.

When my 12-year-old son had a lot of homework to do at home, he felt very anxious. One evening, he walked into the house and told my sister: “Hey, I broke your plate yesterday, just so you know.“

“No, I didn't!“, he replied.

My mother added: “I saw you, you broke it!“.

“I didn't! You're really unfair to me!“, he lay on the floor and cried.

Five minutes later, I walked out of the room and asked: “What's going on here?“

“Dad, aunt and grandma are really unfair to me!“, he cried out.

“So the big deal is, someone treated you unfairly; you felt disappointed and cried on the floor. That's not what a man does! A real man will stand up even when the sky falls, but you cry just because a plate broke. The worst is yet to come. Throughout your life, you will be treated unfairly, betrayed, and humiliated. So, do you want to cry on the floor when things don't go your way?“

My son immediately stood up, straightened his back, and asked: “Dad, I understand now, what should I do?“.

“Now ask yourself, do you have a lot of spare time or a lot of homework to do? Just remember, let go of the trifles and complete what you should.“

My son picked up his bag, bowed to my sister and grandmother, and calmly walked into his room.

We all smiled. I hope that one day when my son looks back on this, he will understand our good intentions.

When my son was 11 years old, my wife and I lived abroad, and he stayed with his grandmother.

I called her every day to check on her health. One day, my son answered the phone: “Hello, dad,” he said.

“Good,” I replied, “Where's grandma? Dad wants to talk to her.”

“Dad, why do you call grandma every day?“, he asked.

“Do you think that's strange? But she's your mom's mom!“, I said.

“What about you? I also want to talk to you, dad!“, he said.

“You can find mom and talk to her,” I told him.

Since then, my wife has received a call from our son every day at 6 a.m., rain or shine – for 8 years!

The boy cast the line of a toy fishing rod into the lake and was pleasantly surprised when a fish took the bait. The young son continuously asked his dad for help, wanting his dad to reel in the fishing rod with the fish. However, the father persisted, playing the role of an observer and cheerleader right beside, constantly instructing his son: “Reel it in! Reel it in, son!” Even though if the father had intervened, it would have taken just a few moments and guaranteed success.

However, this amazing father took advantage of the opportunity to teach his son about independence, self-experience to reap the rewards. He didn't assist his son but only stood by to guide: “Pull back, son! Pull back, pull back!” then encouraged his son to reel in and never forgot to praise: “Well done, son!” And with the father's dedication, the young son didn't disappoint his father in the slightest, he followed his father's instructions and eventually succeeded: pulling the fish ashore.

Naturally, because everything was done independently, the outcome was even more wonderful, as it was a combination of effort, excitement, hope, and encouragement from the person beside. “This is my first fish in my life!”, the boy exclaimed joyfully echoing his sister's words. One could see the immense joy on the boy's face after going through an unforgettable experience.

And if it weren't for the wise father by his side, perhaps this experience wouldn't have been so fantastic!

The lesson learned from this small family fishing trip? Whenever there is an opportunity, parents should restrain, be patient, and demonstrate their wisdom to integrate lessons about independence into teaching their children. Because of this, the child will be enthusiastic about the results achieved and feel much more confident each time they accomplish something on their own.