Parenting

Getting Better Together

Reading this post about a child’s superior sales skills started me thinking about the many ways we can improve our skills and connect with our kids at the same time.

Lots of families do their homework together. Lots of parents choose to work on tasks requiring a medium level of concentration around the same dining room table where spelling words are listed and 4th grade math is tackled.

Sometimes there’s a big gulf between adult goal-setting and the little bit we allow kids to take part in.  The next time the weather has you all indoors why not have a family vision board session?  It’s a great way for family members to get in touch with their dreams and aspirations.  And creating them in the same time and space offers a wonderful opportunity to know those things about each other.

(Note:  I use this tool, both personally and in workshops.  Personally, I don’t think there’s a “wrong” way but if you want help to start, check out this article by Martha Beck and this one by Christine Kane.)

A family ‘walk and talk’ after dinner gets everyone outdoors, away from the TV or computer screen and moving around a bit.  And, if a more intense workout is needed, teens and tweens make great accountability partners!

Want some help with meal planning and grocery shopping?  Perhaps part of your team has great computer skills and can surf for coupons?  Or maybe they can help use a site like All Recipes to find new uses for some of what’s hanging around in the pantry?  In addition to (eventually) lightening your load a bit, this is a great way to share learning about what we eat and what we spend: choices they’ll be exercising every single day.

It’s impossible to overestimate the impact of childhood lessons (and especially the power of parental example) have later in life.  Improving skills while having fun?  That’s a “win” in anybody’s book.

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Speaking of books… Have you seen Raising Good Grown-ups?  It’s now available for your Kindle or your iPad.

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