on your shoulders.

Habit #8 --Teach your child how important they are to you.

One of the best habits you can develop in your child is to teach them that they matter. That what they say matters, what they do matters, and that they matter very much to you. You may think, “Of course they know they matter. I’m their parent, I do everything for them. The deal is, they don’t see that. They have no concept of what life was like before they came along, so they don’t know how they have impacted your life. Consequently, we may act under the assumption that they realize that we spend all our time and money on them, rather than on us. Focus on taking the time to listen especially. When you take the time to listen to your child, instead of brushing her off, you are building connections. When you respond in a manner that validates her feelings instead of invalidating them, you are teaching her to be caring. When you help her to choose appropriate actions, you are helping her to be more competent. Trust me, they hear you. From their point of view, it can be difficult to think about themselves as having power, or worth. That is something we as parents, are uniquely situated to present. Don’t waste the opportunity to make someone’s day or lifetime.

Study after study demonstrates the importance of social interaction in determining a child's future. Geniuses who are socially inept will rarely do more in life or go farther than someone who gets along with people. Those "people skills" come from a childhood of interactions that have empowered the child. Nature vs. nurture is moot and passe. You play the biggest role in determining your child's success in life.

No pressure.

ouch.

Tired of talking. Enjoy pics of our Athletic Extravaganza.

Invitation

belted.

More healthy habits from a presentation I wrote.

Habit # 7 -- Teach your kids to wear safety belts.

Child safety seats and belts are referred to as the "wonder drugs" when it comes to saving the lives of children. "If seat belts were medicine, they'd be wonder drugs," says Chuck Hurley, spokesperson for the National Safety Council. "Instead they're like aspirin--so common that people forget how beneficial they are in preventing death and serious injuries."
Nevertheless, too many parents give in to the complaining and resistance from their children and drive without having them buckled into their seats. Six out of every 10 children killed in crashes are unrestrained by either seat belts or child safety seats. In 1997 an 1,244 of the 2,087 children under age 16 killed in crashes were completely unrestrained. In this day and age, there are still parents out there who neglect to put their kids in safety belts. I cannot fathom why anyone driving a car would do this. Additionally, developing the habit of safety will run as a theme in everything you do together. When safety is a habit, that’s a good thing.

There should be some wildly disproportionate penalty for parents who don't seat belt their kids. Public shaming, hot-foot, something. It's just unreal that some parents don't do this.