If I asked you to give a definition of a perfect parent, what would you say? You might give such characteristics as:
Makes sure your family has dinner together at least 5 times a week.
Has children in church every week.
Provides children with necessities, such as clothing and food.
Loves Jesus more than anything.
Gives children opportunities and experiences through extracurricular activities.
Protects children from dangers.
Defining (or eliminating) specific roles in the family.
Helps children with schoolwork.
etc.
There has to be a better definition than these details. Maybe we can only look ahead and see the results, and then work backwards.
Before my wife and I had children, and when our kids were young, we were blessed to be around families that had older children. We saw behaviors and attitudes in those children that we wanted our own kids to have, so we sought wisdom from those parents. Though we never phrased it this way, we were often looking for a formula for parenting success.
But is there an example of a perfect parent? Of course! Without sounding cliche, can we agree that our heavenly Father is a perfect parent? (OK, that does sound cliche. Sorry.)