Parenting Articles - Answers to Your Greatest Hopes, Concerns & Fears

Parenting Articles

Looking for answers to tough issues? You'll find them here. Rather than reading the regurgitated fluff that only skims the surface of the issues or worse yet, articles written by authors who have absolutely no experience parenting (yes, there are actually people out there who are writing articles that only derive from the fairy tale theories in their heads because they have no actual, hard-won experience), you'll get words of wisdom that speak directly to the heart of the issues your family is facing.

For instance, although I believe that responsive parenting is an essential way of interacting with children, have you realized yet that the "100% responsive parent" is just another myth. Like the Suzy Homemaker myth of our mothers' day, these myths make us crazy because they make us feel guilty for not doing enough—not being a super parent, when in fact, what we're doing is more than sufficient. These myths are damaging to those of us who are in the trenches every day with our kids. We're the people who care because we're the ones who are actually living it, helping and struggling with our children, rather than just talking about ideas. Rather than letting these theorists tell us what to do and then make us feel bad, we need to stand up to them by giving ourselves and each other a pat on the back while continuing to do everything we can to give our children the strength and courage to grow up to become good people who care about each other and the world they live in and who are willing to stand up for tough issues and fight to make a difference in the world.

Although most parenting articles tell us that love and support are essential and that the mother-child relationship is the template for all future relationships, we also know that love alone is not enough. While some children can handle simple choices, other children require strong limits, while most others fall somewhere in between. Above all, we know that until our children are mature enough to strike out on their own, we need to be there to guide them with the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime of experience, awareness of our limitations and fears and with an openness that considers different perspectives. Still, we must refuse to buy into some of these current-day theories like those that fly in the face of all we know about child development. For instance, I know some people who promote the idea that children have enough inner wisdom to make all their own choices. Not only are such theories held by people who have little or no experience with parenting, but they promote ideas that can be used by certain parents to shirk their parental responsibilities. Of course, it's never an either-or proposition, but my point is to be careful about whose advice you take.

As such, this section of parenting articles will be driven by you: the reader. Submit your questions about parenting on this page. Tell me about your deepest concerns for your children. Voice your confusion about what to do in certain family situations. (If you are new to this site, read my parenting book, Keepers of the Children, so you you become familiar with my work, philosophy and deep commitment to parents and children.)

Since I am very busy and cannot possibly write parenting articles in response to all questions submitted to this page, I will commit to answering the questions of those who support my site and my mission of raising a generation of children who have the courage to develop their innate strengths and grow up to become adults who make unique and lasting contributions to the world. Pay it forward and make a donation to my site and I will answer your questions. Otherwise, your question may be answered by the many parents who frequent this site each day. Together, let's support each other in our quest to do the best we possibly can for our children, act in ways that are practical and caring, while also remembering to take good care of ourselves.

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