Five Skills Every Parent Needs

With every parenting situation a plethora of demands is made upon the parent. Fortunately many problems can be prevented or solved with the application of a few skills. These skills apply no matter the age of your child.
The first skill is good communication. What job or problem cannot be improved with better communication? You need to express your thoughts and desires to your children, and you need to understand the same from your children. It is up to you as the parent to set a good example of communication by being specific and clear in your requests. You should be honest about everything including your feelings. However you need to be the mature one (you are the adult, after all) and put possibly explosive emotions on hold until all the facts are in. Your children cannot be mind readers, but you need to strive to be mind readers of your children. In trying to get to the bottom of what your child is trying to communicate to you, listen with patience. Rephrase what you believe your child said to be sure you understood and encourage them to tell you more. Give them your eye contact. 
Consistency is a foundation of trust and stability in a family. Be careful what you say, threaten or promise, because you must follow-through with consistency to be taken seriously. Children feel safer knowing what to expect from the adults in their lives. Children will often test your resolve to follow the boundaries you have set, but consistency is the course they ultimately desire from you.
Another parenting skill is patience. Patience is taking the time to understand your children. Patience is required while children are learning new skills. Patience is required is nearly everything you do with your children because they will do it slower or with less skill than you believe they are capable of. Patience is an asset to parenting because you will need to tell your children ten thousand times to cover their cough and blow their nose in a tissue before they begin to remember on their own. 
Behavior management is a fundamental parenting skill. Kids cannot help it that they have short attention spans in certain situations, so do not be surprised what your little angels can get up to. Try to anticipate what your children will do in certain situations and be prepared to distract them or remove less desirable elements from the scene. Try preparing them by gradual exposures to more challenging situations. Keep them busy in safe and acceptable activities.
The final parenting skill is to show love. Depending on your own upbringing, you may find this a natural extension of your personality or you may need to apply more effort. If you are inclined to be reticent, make it a rule that you will always speak up and give praise when you notice good things about your child. Realize that parental love does not permit a child to do whatever they desire, but it has the child's best interests in mind always.
These are just a few skills that parents will employ at every age of their children. In the end, love will cover up an abundance of mistakes that a parent may make as they are learning, too. Applying your best efforts to parenting is well worth it.