This is
a topic very near and dear to my heart. And I have some valuable
information for you that I want you to take to your heart. I'm
going to share with you a few very simple concepts that work
for me & can dramatically enhance your effectiveness with
your child.
This subject
is dear to me because of how I feel about my kids. And, for
the record (and to sway any comments from bitter parents who
don't think it's that easy), I've done a very effective
job of parenting solo.
Let's get
the "who's who" out of the way first.
My oldest
son Ryan is now married and lives in Colorado with his wife
Wendy. He moved away at the age of 9 months with his mom, never
to return. Jessica and Alex are my next two. Their mom and I
raised them in a very conventional American home most of their
childhood. At ages 10 and 15 their mom died. Her death was an
extremely traumatic yet very bonding mishap for my kids and
me. I've raised them solo since then. My lessons are many and
my insights are Golden. My kids are exceptionally healthy emotionally
and it's been by no accident. By God's grace and some Purposeful
Parenting we've thrived.
Second order
of business, this is not a section on "How to fix your
kid". I respect that some of you have special problems
at home that run deeper than what we can address here. There
will always be those out there who have the exception.
As you may
have noticed by now, I'm a huge fan of SIMPLE. I'm convinced
that life is much simpler than we make it out to be. Parenting
is no different. To the screams that it's complicated, my response
is simply... because we make it so.
Here's my
Observation that spans all Parent/child issues:
Your
child's
ONE greatest need is
To FEEL LOVED.
"But
what about all the other stuff around parenting and the pressures
and the decisions and the...and the..."
More of
what you may think has to do with simply, your child is only
TRYING TO FEEL LOVED. And the problems start when you...
