Show respect to your children by being straight up with them about life, the Universe and everything else. Teach them how to survive in the real world not an imaginary one.

Everyone is going to tell you something different, and very rarely is one person ever soley right. My best advise...Never take unsolisited advise...Especially from your in-laws.

respect each other and raising them right,show them that nothing is free in life and that you have to work hard to get what you want out of life.

Be consistent..especially in the early years.

Honesty - any question asked should be told how it is.don't be embarassed to talk 2 them about anything! they'll apprieciate that they can come to you.mean what you say (no empty threats) follow through with punishments,and always acknowledge good behaviour.

Unless you are a parent, don't give others advise on parenting.

My advice would be that if you ever have to choose between being a parent and being a friend...choose the parent. It's not as fun, but it's essential.

Relax. The best thing I could tell new parents is "relax a little bit". Not all the time, and not when you should be watching junior crawl around the floor and get into things he shouldn't ... but in general "relax" and "enjoy".

If your child seems to be fat, slow, or lazy, or a picky eater, don't assume there is something wrong with their character, assume there is something wrong with their health. I suffered for decades with ill health, and obesity. It caused me to lose many jobs, as I missed too much work. As it turned out, I'm allergic to all the foods that I wouldn't eat as a child. All of them. If they'd left me alone, I wouldn't have become obese and I wouldn't have been ill. They did it with all good intentions, but it was the wrong thing to do. I ended up with five different autoimmune disorders, all of which are better since I went back to eating like I did when I was four. It took me until I was in my mid-twenties to get diagnosed with severe asthma. It took me until my thirties to be diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and endometriosis. I was in my forties when they finally figured out the food allergies and fibromyalgia. So if your kids hate healthy foods, see an allergist. The rule in our house is that my daughter has to eat some veggies, fruits, proteins and carbs each day, but they don't have to be the ones she is served. If it makes her feel nauseated to think about eating it, we can always nuke something else. And she usually prefers to eat her veggies frozen anyway, so it isn't an issue. She already has about ten food allergies that we know of. But since we caught it early, she doesn't feel sick all the time like I did.

Have more than one child. It's lonely as an only child.

stock up on lots of diapers and butt wipes!!!!! oh, and lysol.

Pick your battles.

Trust your instincts.

Be patient with your children, treat them with love and respect not as property.

Don't make excuses for bad behaviour. Deal with it immediately so children learn to respect you as you respect them (for example....I babysit a 2 year old who will throw a temper tantrum with her mother if she doesn't get what she wants. So everyday the mom says I should just bare with her....it must be a cold, she must be teething, she must have a little flu, etc).

With eating ,excircise and just about anythang you feel is importent to teach them, they do not need to know thay are being tought. If their is a vegtable thay dislike let them help you grow it in their back yard then find out what they dont like about it and find a recipe that changes the tast, texture, color,shape ect. go play outside and do excercises they have never seen and dont ask them to join you. you may even tell them they cant come then let them win the debate, as to them doing it with you. In short find ways to make them think thangs are their idea and find ways to make thangs fun and entertaining.lastly get them to stop before they want to so that they never get to the point where its know longer fun. They may lose intrest, the later way will have them begging to do whatever you want the next time.

Realize early on that they are not your children - they are God's children. If doesn't mean anything to you that's OK - just skip ahead. Spare the rod. When old people say "Enjoy them while you can - They grow up so fast." - believe them. Realize that your children are NOT your chance to get it right this time by telling them exactly what to do, say, wear, etc as you would if you had it to do over again. Make sure that you don't experience their entire life through the viewfinder of whatever. Eat together as often as possible. Arrange your life so that they spend quality time with their grandparents if at all possible. Plan family vacations together. Do what you can afford. Camp in the national parks or visit Rome - whatever - just do it. etc., etc ...