[Humanpowered] A conversation about Parenting

[Dave Olsen]

Please note that you will be receiving about 3 emails via the Humanpowered list 
over the next week about Parenting.

If you'd like to unsubscribe, just let me know.

If you know of other parents that would benefit from these emails, please feel 
free to forward them on...thanks!

Okay, let's talk Parenting.  I'm passionate about the subject and frankly, I'm 
no longer willing to sit back quietly and watch other parents stumble about...we 
all deserve better, especially our kids.

If we have children in our lives, we all want to be better Parents, 
Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Caregivers, etc.  No one wants conflict but I see 
it all the time, all around me, especially within families.

And the good news is that it simply doesn't need to continue.  We, you and I and 
every other parent, can change things more easily than you might think.

Basically it boils down to this: Parenting with our Heads or Parenting with our 
Hearts.  For reasons beyond me, I've been blessed to (mostly) choose to Parent 
with my Heart right from my daughter's birth.  And it doesn't just work, it's 
joyful!  And not just for me, for my daughter, for my nephew, for my daughter 
and nephew's friends, our neighbours, and for every other child I've had the 
honour of interacting with.

Sure, I've Parented with my Head.  It usually ends up with disappointment or 
stress or worse.  I'm not talking about scheduling appointments or classes or 
fun things like birthday parties and the like.  Obviously, we need to use our 
brains in this complicated, fast-paced world.  And we need to share our 
knowledge and experience to keep our kids safe and alive.

I'm talking about taking advice from a book, a guru, a friend, neighbour or 
especially a family member and trying it out on your child before trying it out 
with your heart.  That's where parents can get derailed in a hurry...and usually 
no one's around to help you get back on track.

For me, if it doesn't feel right, if it doesn't sit well, if I have to convince 
myself of its rightness, then almost always its wrong for our family.

CLICK HERE for a short video about an experience with my daughter...when I 
Parented with my Head! <http://parenting.lasqueti.ca/>

Not so when I follow my Heart.

Not only am I in harmony with my daughter or nephew or other child, I'm at peace 
with myself, and the kids can not only sense it, they respond to it.  Of course, 
they also respond to Head-based parenting, too!  And that's where the power 
struggle comes in.

Which brings up another question I hear all the time from parents: "why won't my 
child(ren) co-operate?!"

Let's save that for next time...

Until then...all the best, Dave



ethical environmental consulting, 1 Beautiful Bicycle Lane, Lasqueti Island  V0R 2J0

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