We want our children to grow and prosper but we also want some cooperation and help in keeping the house and chores done. Our children may very well think that our only goal is to get them to clean the laundry room and keep them from going to the mall. But in a parent's mind, we see our goal as raising a responsible, trustworthy human being who will be able to stand on his own two feet in life. (It sure helps to have a clean laundry room, however.) For all of us in learning to do new jobs, we not only need to learn the new ...
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We want our children to grow and prosper but we also want some cooperation and help in keeping the house and chores done. Our children may very well think that our only goal is to get them to clean the laundry room and keep them from going to the mall. But in a parent's mind, we see our goal as raising a responsible, trustworthy human being who will be able to stand on his own two feet in life. (It sure helps to have a clean laundry room, however.) For all of us in learning to do new jobs, we not only need to learn the new skill, methods and equipment but the determination to stick with it and gain efficiency, speed and accuracy. We all need help and the only way our children can learn good work habits is with parental assistance, supervision and cooperation. This takes much longer than simply drawing up a job chart or pasting a star on a forehead. It takes patience, patience and more patience. If we look at this time spent teaching our children how to work as an irritant, both the parent and child lose. However, if we look upon this time as working closely with a good friend to insure his life long success, it will be time well spent. There is no harder occupation in the world than parenting. We receive little or no training for it and our children try very hard to convince us that we are doing it incorrectly. Respect is a two way street. Parents must walk it with their children. But sharing the journey to a successful contributing life with someone you love is one of the real joys of parenting. However, I am convinced that as parents we need to stop feeling so guilty when we fall short of our own and others expectations. We are all doing the best we can with the information and experiences that we have right now. The fact that you attend training sessions or buy books such as this indicates that you are trying to do better. Our goal should be to be a better parent today than we were yesterday and to maintain an atmosphere in the home where mutual respect, support and love are present. Good luck and God bless. You do an important work.
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