I couldn’t decide on the title of this blog post: ‘How to be a Good Parent’, ‘What is a Good Parent?’, ‘The Art of Being a Good Parent’ … and many more that I won’t bore you with. And I was worried that people would open this blog post and think I was going to give you a lecture on being a good parent … because I’m not! I actually, if the truth be known, don’t have a clue what I’m doing in the parenting field! I’m a fire-fighting parent: taking each day as it comes and hoping (fingers crossed) that I’m doing the best by my girls and they’ll grow happy, well-rounded individuals (although, not sure I’m that well-rounded myself 🙂 I’m happy though, so we’ll go with that).

So why write a blog post about something I know nothing about? Well, I’ve been inspired by some lovely friends of mine! Most parents (and yes, I do this) watch other parents, and we either think, ‘Oh I wouldn’t be doing it that way!’ or ‘Oh wow, that’s fab. I’ll try that!’ – I usually think the latter! Well, this week, my gorgeous friends Stacey and Garry Wells (Wells Solutions) have shown what amazing parents they must be.

Their daughters Bethany Jade (18 years) and Holly (16 years), have had an awesome week. We went to watch Bethany Jade in the Teen Star Competition. She was totally amazing. We took our girls along who were just in awe of Beth, but then who wasn’t? – Even the judges voted her their favourite – check out it out here! We’re hoping to go to the next round. It’s all very exciting. As I watched Beth, and I watched my girls mesmerised by her, I hoped that I could be half the parent Stacey and Garry are. I asked Beth about her mum and dad’s support, and she said: ‘My mum and dad have been the biggest support I have. They have always believed in me. My mum has always been my emotional support and encouraged me, and my dad has always gone the extra mile to get me to where I am now. I could not possibly thank them enough’.

But it doesn’t stop there! Holly also had an amazing week when she was offered a place on the Under 17’s England Football Team! As parents can you imagine how proud you would be. I also spoke with Holly about the encouragement her parents had given her, and she said: ‘My mum and dad are my rock. I would have never got to where I am today without them! My dad is an inspiration, he encourages me to extreme levels and pushes me where he knows I should be. My mum gives me everything she’s got, love is the main thing. The best thing in the world is seeing my parents smiling and knowing that I’m the reason behind that smile!’

Can you imagine how you would feel if your kids were to say this about you? Beth and Holly are such lovely people. Now you may be reading this and thinking, ‘Those girls probaby don’t have a life!’ or ‘They are probably very spoilt.’ Well, absolutely not!! They are normal teenage girls who work very hard at what they want to achieve in life, and have a lovely group of friends who they spend time with. They follow their passions and are supported and encouraged by their parents.

I couldn’t resist asking Garry how he feels and how he’s supported his girls, (looking for a bit of advice really 🙂 ): ‘After a tough up-bringing, all I ever wanted was my own loving family. I wanted to give my children what I never had, and after meeting the love and friend of my life, my wife Stacey, we both (since 26.03.96, when Bethany Jade was born) wanted nothing more than our daughter to strive in success no matter what that may be. That wish never changed on the arrival of our 2nd daughter, (Holly Jesscia on 29.05.97). As parents we have lived, breathed and loved our daugthers no matter what. We will always be there to support and love them no matter where or what they might want to be. However, a footballer and singer was just a dream come true for a dad!’

How could you not be buzzing? Although I had just finished reading the Knowledge First Financial reviews, a parenting advice magazine, I still wanted to drain Stacey and Garry of all their parenting knowledge 🙂 So last but definitely not least – Stacey. Generally a mum is someone who holds everyone together, has to juggle 101 jobs, make sure everyone else is happy before she is happy, but in the words of Karl Lagerfeld, ‘The only love that I really believe in is a mother’s love for her children.’

Stacey is a dear friend of mine, and an amazing mum. I’m always asking Stacey how she does it, and how she encourages her girls, but today I got an official quote from her 🙂 ‘We’ve always tried to bring Beth and Hol up to be down-to-earth and fun-loving girls who dream big … And not to forget their pleases and thank yous’! I can’t believe how lucky we are to have two talented girls and watching them grow into young women with set goals is something myself and Garry will always be so proud of.’

I know Stacey and Garry well enough to know they don’t think of themselves as the best parents ever. They simply believe in their girls, and they do their very best to support and encourage them. They were quite humble when I said I wanted to do a blog post on them. I just wanted to share this amazing week with everyone as I truly believe they must be doing something right. If I can learn anything from them, I’m willing to soak it up. I’m always willing to learn 🙂