Raising a child does not have to be by guess and by gosh and hope you're doing it right. Parenting is an activity, and like any and every action or activity, it is subject to the principles of quality. When the principles of quality are known and applied, high quality follows. Even more important, since children learn mainly by example, they learn and apply the principles of quality in their own lives, and do very well in all regards.

From infancy, through toddlerhood, into childhood, and from there on out, children do what they see works. If crying gets results, they cry. If anger works, they are angry. They don't understand until much later, if ever, that what worked with their parents when they were very young might not work in other settings. So they keep on crying, or being angry, since they know it works, and it's the only thing they know works. Their lives are not very happy.

Enter the principles of quality. What does it mean to be a high quality parent? Exactly the same as being a high quality violinist, telephone repairman, baseball player, or retail clerk. They get good results. High quality doesn't happen by accident or by making good guesses. High quality is based on the principles of quality. Anyone who is better than average at a particular activity is applying some of these principles, whether they know it or not.

Here is the other side of the coin: anyone who is applying the principles of quality, to any activity, will get good results. In the case of parents, other parents will envy them for having such great kids.

So what are the three Major Principles of quality, the four Applied Principles, and the thirteen Quality Actions? Far more than will fit in one article. But here is the first Major Principle, on which all the rest are based, and without which all the rest will not work very well if at all:

Quality is an attitude.

This is true. Quality is not a skill or a talent or high intelligence or a gift. Quality comes directly from the desire to do something better, get better results, improve something. The most wonderful thing about this principle is that anyone can do it. Starting anytime. That desire is yours if you want it, and no one, absolutely no one, can stop you from having it.

Notice also, that the Quality Attitude is a desire to do something better, to get better results. A person who is improving, even if he is not good yet, is succeeding. Failure is only lack of improvement. A brand new parent might not be a good parent at first. But if he or she wants to get better at it, and does what it takes to get better at it, eventually he or she will be a good parent, a high quality parent, and his or her kids will be great kids.

So how do you get better at something? Once you have this Quality Attitude, what do you do with it? You apply the other principles of quality. They are also freely available for anyone, without special training. They are talked about in other articles by the same author, so look them up.

But only if you want to do something better, get better results, or improve something.