Working Class Parenting: Motivation, Education and Inspiration For Parents

My son and I have been involved in a local sports program now for over 4 years. Although promoted as a non-competitive sports program, there is no good warm blood American parent that goes to these games without wanting to see their team win. However, there has been this undercurrent of over competitiveness that has been tainting the games. Coaches have been a little more on edge with players and more confrontational with each other. Tuesday night was the fire storm. After a week of brewing (murmuring, complaining, sarcastic remarks and rude comments), one seemingly bad play erupted into verbal attacks, cursing and coaches clearing the benches. One parent on the opposing team yelled, “punch him in the face”. In the end, the kids were upset and parents refused to return. It was an unfortunate event, but one that could have been avoided.

When I was about six years old, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted into the family. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in our family. In my young mind, he had a special place in our home.  My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.  But the stranger... he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.

Albert Einstein once said, "I get most joy in life out of music." I am always a bit hesitant to discuss this matter. Typically upon bringing it up I'm stereotyped as a closed minded Christian extremist. The topic is music. Hold on, hear me out. Let's remove the holiness factor out of the equation for a moment and focus solely on common sense. When you workout at the gym, you like fast up beat music, when your wanting time to relax you may play instrumental and when wining and dining your spouse, you play romantic tunes. Get any of these genres in with the wrong activity and your experience might me a bit different. Now that is said, we can agree that music can and has a profound effect on us as individuals and society as a whole. Bands have set fashion trends, patented slogans and influenced the sales of countless products, Why? The answer is twofold; the celebrity status of the artist and the influence of their music. If music can persuade an adult to action or ...

So your 13 year old son has been begging for an IPhone. You have contemplated the pros and cons and still are unsure. Do I really want to release my son out into the cyber world so early? Can I trust him? Well one mother relented and purchased an IPhone for her 13 year old son, but it didn't come with out the best proactive parenting I've seen yet. Check out Janell Hoffmans 18-Point IPhone rules. One commenter stated, "Its a sad day when a parent is doing their job and it is a news item". Dear Gregory Merry Christmas! You are now the proud owner of an iPhone. You are a good & responsible 13 year old boy and you deserve this gift. But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations. Please read through the following contract. I hope that you understand it is my job to raise you into a well rounded, healthy young man that can function in the world and coexist with technology, not be ruled by it. Failure to comply with the following li...

Sometimes it seems like you can be all 3 parenting styles in one day. At the start of the day we can be Authoritative- Clear expectations and consequences for our kids behavior, but at the same time affectionate too. "We can't watch a movie until you clean your room honey. I love you." Then by the middle of the day when stuff is not getting done we start to become Authoritarian- Still clear expectations and consequences but a little less affection. "You need to clean your room and we won't watch a movie until you do because I said so." Then, after feeling bad about Authoritarian style and not wanting our children to write a book titled- "I don't love you till your room's clean-My childhood story." We become Permissive-Show lots of affection, but provide little or no discipline. "I love you! I love to watch movies with you! Forget the room. What do you want to do? Ice cream and a movie? Lets go!" Love and Discipline go...

Today's Theme: Love and Discipline I read a good article this morning by Shana Schuttle, called The Wonders of Reality Discipline (She starts off writing about lipstick, but guys keep reading, it gets better.) Reality Discipline is based on the writing of child-psychologist Dr. Kevin Leman's article, "First things first", in which he says "..discipline your children in such a way that he/she accepts responsibility and learns accountability for his actions." There are two great examples of Reality Discipline in Shana Schuttle's story

Parenting with P.E.A.C.E. is an article written by Juliay Tippett who is a licensed clinical social worker and a mother of two children. There are some great tips in here that we as parents need to remember, I know I do.   Parenting with P.E.A.C.E. By Juliay Tippett L.C.S.W. Parenting children from toddlers to teenagers takes a lot of work and attention. No one is born with perfect parenting skills nor can perfection be achieved. Although being a parent can be quite joyful, a few of the negative emotions involved in rearing children are frustration, anger, worry, and disappointment. These emotions at times are directed at the children initially then they may internalize within oneself causing feelings of doubt and failure. Don't give up. Remember P.E.A.C.E when interacting with your child. P = Patience: This is a key component in parenting because as soon as you lose your patience situation you are in can escalate. Take deep breathes, stay calm, and try not to raise...