This is an actual (paraphrased) exchange we had with our 16-year-old son. If you are using the Parenting Funnel philosophy (Parenting from the Tree of Life – Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo) on how to provide freedoms to your children, this is how it played out at the Marr house. “A teen rebels not against authority, but against relationship” (Ezzo). As a child grows, parenting philosophy on why decisions are made should be transparent AND [...]
Each November, as Americans, we have the unique privilege to exercise our American Liberty by “V”oting and honoring our “V”eterans. Today is Election Day and next Monday is Veteran’s Day. How often do we take both for granted, let alone explain the importance to our children? Yet both are fundamental to the founding and longevity of our republic. Without either “V” our country would not exist. Learn, Instruct and Vote Voting is at the heart of [...]
Do you give your children the freedom to fail or make mistakes? Or more appropriately, do you allow them freedom to grow with personal responsibility and ownership? Whether you are a child or an adult, failure is not failure if you learn and grow from it. For parents, it’s especially difficult for us to see our children suffer frustration, experience emotional pain or the discomfort that comes with failing or making mistakes. As a result, [...]
As much as we enjoy Halloween, we were always glad when it was behind us. Sure, we enjoyed many aspects of trick or treating - like the time a 4 year old Elvis impersonator came to the door and said, “Thank you. Thank you very much” in his deepest little voice. But with all the fun and excitement, there is also a certain kind of craziness that is driven by the childhood narcotic – Candy. [...]
Throughout our parenting journey, one parenting tool that we have utilized the most is planting seeds. While the generic concept of planting seeds is not new, our friends Dave and Lis provided us with a perspective that took the concept to a new level in our parenting with a 2 step approach: Planting seeds – Initiate a significant idea or topic with a question Cultivation – Ongoing conversation follow up This tool has been particularly helpful [...]
We hope you’ve picked up on a major theme from OneFamily – Family Identity. Family Identity takes ages to develop a decent working hypothesis and years and years after that to prove it out through countless scenarios. Homework is one such area that brings many family factors into play where Family Identity can be used positively and effectively. What does “the grade isn’t as important as the effort you put into it” actually mean to [...]
Sunday, September 8, 2024 was Grandparents Day. Unfortunately, this special day usually passes each year with little notice. Grandparents are blessing and should probably be honored more that we do. Sometimes, we can let our own relationship with our parents affect their relationship with our children. Here is a letter we posted previously that may provide you with some insights that you may or may not have considered in the Grandparent/Mom & Dad relationship dynamic. [...]
"This conference was a parenting gold mine!" "So many takeaways..." “A game changer…” “This will definitely help us…” These were just some of the comments we received from this weekend's GFI Parenting Conference. Over the course of two enriching days, nearly to 200 parents garnered valuable insights and fresh information for their parenting journey. Now, we bring to you a special opportunity. For a limited time, we are offering complete access to all conference presentations. [...]
Parenting is a year-round process, yet summer brings a unique opportunity to amplify our parenting efforts. The relaxed pace of the season, with its sunshine and family activities, provides an ideal backdrop for “supercharging” our parenting initiatives while enjoying the fun of the season together. We’ve always been proponents of goal setting and planning, as evidenced in our Tuesday Letters. That’s why we’ve crafted a Summertime Checklist—a guide to help you prepare or revisit parenting strategies [...]
Back to school has always been very similar to the start of a new year for our family. It marks the start of a new school year with renewed expectations and resolutions not only for our boys, but also for us as parents. For the kids, it’s a great time to get them refocused on their schedules, routines and revisit some lessons that were learned or challenges faced in the previous school year and over [...]