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, [...]
Last fall, we were invited to be a part of a parenting program where would we record video segments and offer parenting advice to young parents – much like these Tuesday Letters. After a couple months of recording and producing a couple video segments, we submitted them for upload on their website and mobile app. To our stunned surprise, our initial video discussing toddler obedience, was rejected by their content committee and we were told [...]
As we wrap up several of our winter parenting classes this week, we were reminded of our own family journey and how far we have come. Looking back on all the seasons of our parenting, there was one thing we did when our boys turned 13 that made a significant difference in all our lives as they became teenagers. We came up with a Year of Discovery, which is compilation of ideas we took from [...]
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 [...]
There are a thousand things to take up one’s time: Responsibilities at work, emails, organizing and paying the bills, the abundance of life’s maintenance like cooking and laundry, mowing the lawn and taking out the trash, school events, sports events, and unending child socials, and then throw in your own socializing and time to just relax in front of a Netflix movie. Why would you take what few precious unscheduled moments that remain and volunteer [...]
Core family values should be at the heart of your parenting. These values help you to define the “WHY’ of your parenting and establishes a character foundation that every member of the family should be familiar with. Whether you have toddlers or teens, it’s never too late to define and establish your Core Family Values (CFV). Where to begin Brainstorming and creating a list Begin by compiling a broad list of values you want to [...]
Ok, if it were me reading this in my 30’s, I probably wouldn’t read any topic as mundane as cleanliness. But, now that I’ve put a few miles under the tires, this fundamental skill of life contains way more than I would have thought. There’s more here than you’d first guess. You parents are underway with the greatest undertaking possible – structuring a life from which your child will come to distinguish themselves from mere [...]
One of the positives of childhood was the kids having their friends sleepover, where they didn’t want playtime to end so pleading would ensue to let “Timmy spend the night”. Parents are charged with the responsibility for a child’s safety and long-term well-being. Period. This discussion offers our views for you to consider and hopefully brings out a balanced view. This issue is but an early example of the unending stream of dilemmas you’ll face [...]
When we took our first parenting class, our kids were nearly 5 and 2 years old. Since then, we never stopped revisiting and reinvesting in the practical parenting principles we learned. Initially we were completely overwhelmed with all the things we wanted/needed to implement with our boys. We learned over the years that focusing on one or two concepts at a time was manageable and helped us to make the progress we desired with much [...]
There is a door that when open allows mom and dad into the inner sanctum of a child’s heart. It’s a place of intimacy and love, trust and acceptance, a place of goodwill and harmony. But when that door is closed, there can be confusion and anger, accusation, and resentment, and often a place of mistrust and discord. A child’s heart is a delicate thing that evolves with the seasons of life. What starts as [...]