Why Family Dinners Are Important
Encouraging Family Dinners
by: Tracey Doull
We all know how important it is to sit down at the table for a meal with the family on a regular basis, but often this is much easier said than done.
Letting Kids Be Self-Reliant at Sleepaway Camp
Letting Go—Parents and Camps Foster Children’s Self-Reliance
Print a List of Questions To Ask Camp Directors
See North Texas Kids Guide to Summer Camps & Kids Activities
by Marla Coleman
I have witnessed, first-hand, the incredible journeys of children who come to recognize their own power in steering their own destinies.
Camp is a stepping-stone to self-reliance! It is one community in which children can learn to navigate on their own without well-intentioned parental course-plotting to avert choppy waters. As a parent, I confess to the compelling desire to negotiate smooth sailing for my own children. Yet, over the years, as a camp director, I have witnessed, first-hand, the incredible journeys of children who come to recognize their own power in steering their own destinies. Opportunities for decision-making and problem-solving at camp, which foster a culture of success, allow children to discover their strengths and their abilities to make good choices and to influence positive outcomes for themselves.
After all, coaching kids to feel capable is what camp directors do. Not quite so obvious but just as central is their proficiency to coach parents to support their children with just the right combination of back-up and encouragement. Kids learn quickly to rely upon themselves and the adults they trust at camp instead of their parents, who could be one hundred miles away or more!
Kids Need to Feel Valued
Legacy of Rescue: A Daughter’s Tribute
Kids Need to Feel Valued: Value Your Children for Who They Are – Not Who You Need Them to Be
By Marta Fuchs, MLS, MFT
“I got everything I wanted except what I needed.”
It was a breakthrough moment. A therapy client suddenly discovered what he always knew and now could finally identify. By being able to name it, he became a witness to his experience, and could finally begin to feel compassion for himself. No wonder there were tears, in his eyes and mine.
Countless other successful people I’ve counseled have had that same sorrowful feeling that something basic was missing. They got everything they wanted from their parents except what they needed the most: to be seen and valued.
That is the essence of parenting – to see and value your children for who they are, rather than as an extension of yourself or as the means to fulfill your own needs.
