We Build Our Life from the Little Things
Thirty years hence your child will be off in the world doing big important things. They will be living their lives depending on the wisdom and strength that they drew from their childhood with you. If that reality doesn’t hit you just a little bit, you’re built of sterner...
Gratitude – the Cure for Entitlement
I would like to begin by dispelling a myth about gratitude. We do not teach our children about gratitude for the development of their good manners. I believe as much in good manners as anyone–probably more than most. However, in sooth, we teach our children about gratitude because it...
Teaching Both Halves of the Lesson – Double Standards for Breakfast
Preparing children for the real world can be challenging, in large part because life is complicated. Let’s start with some simple examples: When your adult friend is in a slump, should you console them or bark at them in an attempt to snap them out of it? It depends,...
Challenging Your Kids to Climb to the Next Level
“So, do you think you can do it?” Our guide had just finished telling me that it would be better for the boys to ride donkeys rather than to hike Pico Duarte. It is the Caribbean’s highest peak and a three-day endeavor for the hobbyist hiker. The climb is...
Be Ready for Spontaneous Teaching Moments
How a father’s inside joke with his kids turned into a scientific method experiment, then a lesson in learning, integrity, and service, and how, in the end, the joke was on us. Kids love treats, right? I think that’s why my kids are so tickled by their father’s love...