January 2012
4 posts
Trust and respect—a new perspective for raising...
“Lisbeth, can you define the word friendship for me? “
“It’s when you like somebody.”
“Sure, but what is it that makes you like somebody?”
She shrugged.
“Friendship—my definition is built on two things,” he said. “Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don’t have trust, the friendship will crumble.”
—From The Girl...
Keep working on your response to problems
I remember attending a class on parenting when my kids were in junior high school. One of the conversations that has stayed with me was about problems. It resonated with the entire group of parents when the workshop leader said:
Good kids have problems.
Good parents have problems with their kids.
Life is a series of problems.
There was a sigh of relief in the room as all of us parents got...
Use your words... ask for what you want.
A couple of times a year, I encounter a parent telling a small child who is upset, “Use your words. Tell me what you want.” This is a wonderful practice. In the moment, it helps the parent find out what the child wants or is upset about. Longer term, it establishes a key conversational skill—asking for what you want. (from page 115 of Ten Powerful Things to Say to Your Kids)
The ability to...
4 tags
Attention is where all the magic happens...
“One of the things you talk about in Ten Powerful Things to Say to Your Kids really stuck with me: being a good listener. I’m working on improving my listening skills—life just gets so much more interesting when you focus and pay very close attention to what people are saying. When they know you are actually listening to them, they light up and become more alive. Being a good listener is an...
