Modeling vs. Coddling?

Jun 182014
 

Lifelong learner hijacks Mom’s desk

 

Sometimes there’s a big gulf between adult goal-setting and the little bit we let our kids take part in. Reading this post about a child’s superior sales skills helped me think about the many ways we can improve our skills and connect with our kids at the same time.

Lots of families do homework together. What would happen if, instead of hovering over our kids to prevent the discomfort of error, we sat beside them, working on some of our own “medium concentration” tasks? What if we used the opportunity to consciously practice positive parental role modeling?

The next time the weather has you all stuck inside, why not try a family vision board session?  Perhaps you could use it to plan a vacation or a holiday gathering.  Or, have each person use it to plan a portion of the event and see how many you can incorporate.  Either way, creating in the same time and space offers a wonderful opportunity to learn about each other… and the visuals can be a big help with communication.

A family ‘walk and talk’ after dinner gets everyone outdoors, away from the TV or computer screen and moving around a bit.  And, if a more intense workout is needed, teens and tweens can be great accountability partners!

Want some help with meal planning and grocery shopping?  Perhaps part of your team has great computer skills and can surf for coupons?  Or maybe they can help use a site like All Recipes to find new uses for some of what’s hanging around in the pantry?  In addition to (eventually) lightening your load a bit, this is a great way to share learning about what we eat and what we spend: choices they’ll be exercising every single day.

It’s impossible to overestimate the impact of childhood lessons  — and especially the power of parental example —  have later in life.  And for those who have paired improving skills with having fun?  That’s a “win” in anybody’s book.

 

##

Related articles

Updates, New Translations… and Thank YOU!

Jan 182013
 

As the self-taught tech department, I find that each improvement leads to more improvements.  (They also compete with blogging time.)  Here’s a small re-cap about recent changes:

A new e-newsletter provider has led to a lot of site changes and an enormous learning curve for the tech department.  (Guess who???? ) So, if you want to receive our “once in awhile newsletter” hop on over to the main site and sign up.  I don’t spam ~ it comes out once a month-ish. You already know I’m not a high-pressure marketer.  Forwarding my newsletters (with a note) is a great way to help connect your friends with me.  I appreciate it.

What Kids Need to Succeed: Four Foundations of Adult Achievement is now available in multiple e-reader formats including Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, Sony Reader and…. [here]

By the way, if you like to read and you’re interested in supporting authors this link will take you to Smashwords where you can join an affiliate marketing program.  Look around.  Sign up.  Introducing your friends, family, team members and readers to new books is a nice thing to do, don’t you think? (It’s a great way to encourage writers to keep writing!)

I’m also proud to announce the arrival of a brand new program created to help people manage negative self-talk  and get unstuck!  Inner Critic to Inner Ally: A Beginner’s Guide is available as an online self-study, with or without 30 days of e-mail support from yours truly. It’s getting great reviews from direct sellers, a management consultant and a few mental health providers.  Although I originally wrote it with direct sellers in mind, I think it’s good for anyone struggling with “one foot on the gas and one on the brake.”

That’s what I’ve been up to.  What’s good with you?

English: A Picture of a eBook Español: Foto de...

New "translations!" (Image via Wikipedia)

Thanks for your support, encouragement…. and helping to spread the word.

Getting Better Together

Aug 222011
 

Reading this post about a child’s superior sales skills started me thinking about the many ways we can improve our skills and connect with our kids at the same time.

Lots of families do their homework together. Lots of parents choose to work on tasks requiring a medium level of concentration around the same dining room table where spelling words are listed and 4th grade math is tackled.

Sometimes there’s a big gulf between adult goal-setting and the little bit we allow kids to take part in.  The next time the weather has you all indoors why not have a family vision board session?  It’s a great way for family members to get in touch with their dreams and aspirations.  And creating them in the same time and space offers a wonderful opportunity to know those things about each other.

(Note:  I use this tool, both personally and in workshops.  Personally, I don’t think there’s a “wrong” way but if you want help to start, check out this article by Martha Beck and this one by Christine Kane.)

A family ‘walk and talk’ after dinner gets everyone outdoors, away from the TV or computer screen and moving around a bit.  And, if a more intense workout is needed, teens and tweens make great accountability partners!

Want some help with meal planning and grocery shopping?  Perhaps part of your team has great computer skills and can surf for coupons?  Or maybe they can help use a site like All Recipes to find new uses for some of what’s hanging around in the pantry?  In addition to (eventually) lightening your load a bit, this is a great way to share learning about what we eat and what we spend: choices they’ll be exercising every single day.

It’s impossible to overestimate the impact of childhood lessons (and especially the power of parental example) have later in life.  Improving skills while having fun?  That’s a “win” in anybody’s book.

##

Speaking of books… Have you seen Raising Good Grown-ups?  It’s now available for your Kindle or your iPad.

 Older Entries