I shared a while back that we have moved and that I have learned several lessons in the process. Those were good lessons but I have learned far more through the trials my family and I have had to face since moving. Trials that in my life I have had few of up until now. It seems since the move it has been one thing after another. In the weeks to come I will start sharing some of the things that I learned and what I have been able to take from them.
When was the last time you moved?
My wife, son, and I moved back to where my wife and I are from a little over four months ago. It has been our first big move since we moved from our apartment we lived in right after we got married into our first house. In moving my wife and I have learned some very valuable lessons. Continue Reading…
This is the fourth and final part in the Four Stages of Parent Series.
Having covered the first four stages of parenting: the caregiver, the cop, and the coach we are now here at the final stage in parenting. That is what is known as the consultant stage.
During this stage your children are older and by this time have gone off to college or moved out to pursue their own dreams and goals. As parents at this point we have done all we can in the first three stages of parenting to point our children in the right direction and teach them all of the things we can about life without them experiencing it for themselves.
It is in this stage the you children come to you for consultation. They will use you as a resource because over the years of raising them they have found out that you know a few things about what they are going through. You have been there and lived that. So when troubles come and big decisions hang in the balance over them your children will come to you to bounce ideas off of and seek your guidance.
Take this in. As a parent you have earned this. You have earned your child’s trust and they value your opinion.
There are two things in my opinion that make parents good consultants to their kids: Continue Reading…
Good Coaches are Always Needed
This is part three of the Four Stages of Parenting Series.
We have covered the caregiver and cop stages of parenting already. Now we will move into the coaching stage.
The coaching stage begins when you start to teach you child the ins and outs of life, about morales, and values.
When I think about coaching I think back to my baseball days. I played college baseball and the coach I had the opportunity to play for was a one of a kind guy. When looking back at what he instilled in the players that played for him and what he expected of them he did everything that we as parents are supposed to do when coaching our children.
Here are five things that every coach should possess: Continue Reading…
As cops discipline those that break the rules. So must you.
This is the second post in the Four Stages of Parenting Series.
I feel like my job of caregiver is certainly not over it has just not as demanding. My son has moved from needing me constantly for everything to needing my for certain things. He is a pretty independent guy for a two-year old.
Now I find myself being less and less of a constant caregiver and more of a cop that is constantly on patrol. Like I am anticipating the law of our house is going to be broken. I feel like I am having to discipline all of the time. You see my son is now well into his two’s. Yes the terrible two’s are real…at least at my house. My son is always trying to push the limits.
Case in point:
The other day I told him not to touch something.
So he looks at me with those cunning little eyes and take his one little finger and eases it towards the object. Hovering right above it.
I say to him’ “you better not.”
He proceeds to tap it and starts running.
Needless to say my son got punished for disobeying.
Did he harm what he touched? No.
That is not the point. The point was my son knowingly disobeyed me, and disobeying a parent is totally unacceptable at the Tucker house.
Austin Ruhoff (1)