These directions can literally be lifesavers for elementary age children. For instance, a visit to the Grand Canyon would make any parent extra vigilant where his or her child is concerned. Too close to the edge and the consequences would be devastating. Yet, some parents take safety to an extreme, and end up inhibiting a child’s adventurous spirit.

I knew a boy who had been made fearful of life by his father. It wasn’t that his father didn’t love his child; he just restricted the boy’s movements so much – that in the end, he made his son afraid of almost everything. Because the child was so timid, he literally had to be taught how to walk with confidence, and even how to jump into the shallow end of a pool without having a panic attack. How heartbreaking that this child’s youthful exuberance for life had been squashed by a well-meaning parent.

As you might guess, there remains a murky area between being too safety conscious, and not being safety conscious enough. Unfortunately, many examples exist where parents choose to disregard safety altogether, leading to injury and even death.

So, what is a parent of an elementary-age child to do? How can you promote both physical and intellectual growth, while still making sure your child remains safe?

First, you must present a vision of the world as a secure, exciting place. In actuality, our world teems with wonders around every corner. Share this fact with your child to promote a general sense of well-being in your home. If you live your life in fear, your child will mimic your demeanor.

Next, give your child an opportunity to explore. Yes, this exploration may include a few bumps along the way, but making mistakes and learning from them should be an integral part of growing up. A child needs to run, to climb, to jump, to swim, to dance…even though he or she may end up with an injury.

As a child, I broke my nose after falling off my bike. I also pierced the bottom of my foot on a nail while digging through the rubble of an old farmhouse. Later, I injured my back while practicing cheerleading routines, and I had a fender-bender when first learning how to drive stick shift. Do I regret those incidents? I’ll admit; I could have done without the pain, yet those injuries all marked periods of growth – times when I was living life, and having fun!

Finally, offer praise when your child takes risks, such as learning a new skill. Each time you let your child know you feel proud of him or her for tackling something unfamiliar, increased confidence results.

In the case of the timid boy, I worked diligently to change his fearful mindset once I divorced his father. I am happy to report that he is now a man who travels the world on his own, a free spirit ready to tackle all the wonders life has to offer him.

But I chose to write this post anyways, as I do know one thing for certain – parents want what is best for their teenager, and their picture of health and happiness does not include sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) and unwanted pregnancy.

As the parent of three children, I know the importance of encouraging teens to wait as long as possible before engaging in any form of sexual behavior. We all know that sexual activity leads to both emotional and physical consequences. And as a health educator (for 20 years), I also realize the negative health effects of beginning to engage in sexual intercourse too early.

So, what is a parent of a teenager to do when it comes to this tricky subject? I will share what has worked for me.

First, open communication reigns supreme. From the time my three children were little, they have felt safe when discussing any subject with me. Did this take willpower and strength on my part? Yes! Yet the benefits of open communication have paid off in the long run. My kids tell me everything that goes on in their lives, everything from first crushes to first kisses. Basically, if your child feels safe telling you details, then he or she will come to you with questions about sex. This provides the perfect opportunity to discuss sensitive subjects in an open and honest fashion.

Next, share stories of your own teen years. No, you don’t have to tell your child all about your first sexual experience, but you do have to share the emotional roller coaster you went through as a teen. Think back…remember how hard it was to “fit in?” When you let your teen know that you wrestled with this complicated issue as well, you seem more relateable.

Another step to take is providing education on the topic of sex for your child. I know that this area is a touchy one for many parents. Some argue that if you give your child too much information, then you are encouraging him or her to do the very act you are discussing. After being in the health field for two decades, I know firsthand that this is not the case. When you educate a child, you are giving him or her the necessary tools to evaluate a situation in an effective manner. If your teen knows the consequences of sexual activity, they will be less likely to engage in such behavior.

A final way to prevent teen STI’s and pregnancy concerns behavior of your child’s friends. If you see their friends engaging in risky behavior…speak up! Let your child know you do not approve of this kind of activity!

My dad loves to play bridge, but it is far too complicated for elementary school-level children. He tried to get us to learn, but it only angered us. We tried to get him to play Candyland, but he always declined. We found middle ground on a Dutch card game called Rikken. It involves trumps and bidding, just like bridge, but has fewer rules and nuances to remember.

It’s great to find games that involve thinking, but not knowledge. Does that make sense? This past summer, I played a game that’s a perfect example:  Dixit. In Dixit, on each turn, one player becomes a storyteller and comes up with a sentence that goes along with one of the abstract images on the six cards in his or her hand. The other players turn in one of their cards that best matches the sentence made up by the storyteller. The “storyteller” shuffles and lays the images down on the table, and everyone then votes on which image they think is the storyteller’s. You get points if someone votes for your image, but lose points if you’re the storyteller and everyone picks the right one (yours). You certainly don’t have to be a math whiz to win this game, and you don’t need to be Shakespeare either; you just have to know your audience and play your cards accordingly (sort of like Apples to Apples).

While competition in games can be fun, one of the negative side effects is that there is generally a losing team or person. Sore losers can really ruin the experience (especially if they realize halfway through the game that they are going to lose). Is it worth playing if someone stomps away crying every time? Younger kids often don’t know how to deal with the frustration of a loss and choose to throw a temper tantrum. I was definitely once guilty of this act, but I eventually grew out of it. Set a good example of how to accept a loss once in a while and your children will eventually understand.

On the bright same, playing games as a family also opens up opportunities for teamwork within the family. Many games, such as Sequence or Guesstures, can be played in teams. Switch up the teams to switch up the enemies and allies. First play kids against parents, and then pair up kids with parents.

I’ll take it a step further. Kids don’t really care what you do with them, they just want YOU to do SOMETHING with them. As a writer, there have been numerous times when I took my first son to the park to let him play while I tapped away on my laptop. I thought it was a win-win-win situation. He got to play, I got some work done, my lovely wife got us both out of the house for a little while. Those trips, I eventually learned, were far less satisfying than the times when I left the laptop at home and played with him at the park. In fact, we could skip the park altogether and just play together at home as long as he had my undivided attention.

Now that a little brother has entered into the mix, I’ve found that alone time with one child is far more rewarding (for them) than taking the two together. There is something about that undivided attention, that means so much to a child at 5, 7, 10 years old. They will remember that long after a trip to the park is gone and forgotten.

In the fast paced and overly-connected world of the 21st century, it can be hard to set aside time to give our children 100% focus. But I am now convinced that 20 minutes of undivided attention is better than an hour of time divided. That means no computer, no ESPN (even if it’s “just in the background”) and especially no cell phone.

Make a commitment to take each of your children – individually, if at all possible – on a date night this month. Just you and him or her, one on one. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant or expensive. A trip to the ice cream shop, a movie, a walk around the lake – just make sure that your child knows that he or she has all of your attention for an evening. Let the cell phone go to voicemail. It will be time you both remember and cherish for years to come.

His understanding was that you had to be married to have children, and then God would say “OK, you get a baby”. As we sat in his darkened bedroom, my mind ran in two completely separate directions at the same time. While my mind whirred with activity, pressed to respond in the most fatherly wisdom-filled manner possible, the two distinct trains of thought could well be summed up as “Yes!” and “Oh, crap!”

On the one hand, it was great to know that he remained clueless about this. My lovely wife and I had been debating when it would be time for the talk. We knew the time was coming up soon. We know too many parents who waited too long only to find out that their child had learned the birds and the bees from a fifth grader in the school yard. Innocence just doesn’t last as long as it used to.

On the other hand, the “Oh, crap” hand, I was suddenly thrust into the conversation without being fully prepared. I had planned to do this with great fanfare and elaboration, kind of like the dad on the Las Vegas commercial who confidently teaches his daughter about sex using stuffed toys as props. Instead I had no notice, no pre-discussion pep talk from my lovely wife, no support or sock puppets or other visual aids.

I think I pulled it off. He knows about sperm and eggs and that it is possible, but not advisable, to have children without being married. In the final summation, he said he thinks it all sounds pretty gross. Mission accomplished.

That’s a mighty big number over the course of a childhood. Break it down, though, and it is just under $16,000 a year. That’s a little more than $300 a week. If you think that still sounds high, how about $43.78 a day? Who wouldn’t give $1.82 for an hour of the joys of parenting? For the cost of just three cents a minute, we get to be the biggest influence in a young life.

Considering what you get for your investment, I think a little more than half a million dollars for a couple of kids is a real bargain. Among other things, you get:
• Exclusive naming rights.
• A legacy that lives on long after you’re gone.
• The opportunity to give away the bride (available only on Girl models).
• To play the role of teacher, doctor, adviser, coach, counselor, and leader.
• A whole new perspective on playground fights, homework angst, and first love.
• Considered to be the greatest and wisest person in the whole world (offer expires at age 13).
• Grandchildren (Please allow 24-30 years for delivery).
• Nightly hugs and kisses that melt your heart.

That’s a whole lot of good stuff for your money. 10 years into the parenting adventure, I’d say it’s worth every penny.

I talked with my friends and quite a few of them had never done it before.  We all went on the rollerblading rink together holding hands so that if one of us fell, we would all fall.  After a couple of laps we hadn’t fallen yet so we started to break apart; once I was on my own I fell on my butt.  Now that I think about it, it was quite hilarious, but when I fell I didn’t think it was.  In fact, I was mortified!  But, I laughed it off and started talking about how klutzy I was.

The next lap around, I fell in the same exact spot and then fell while I was getting up.  Again I laughed it off and started skating again, but inside I felt like I had died.  From then on I did very well.

My mom picked me up from school and I told her my story;  she said that she was very proud of me.  I was confused as to why so I asked her why she was proud of me.  She said that she was proud of me because I got back up and kept trying, and that most girls my age probably wouldn’t have skated ever again after they fell that first time.

Personally, I think that you should never give up after just trying once at something.  I mean, nobody is perfect after trying just once, and it will take a lot of practice to be really good at something.  Nobody is perfect at everything, no matter what they say.  They might be good at one specific thing, but that doesn’t mean that since they are better than you, you should just give up.  There were quite a few people at the rollerblading rink that our school went to that were doing laps around me, but that didn’t mean I should give up.  That means that I should keep trying harder and practicing.  I say never give up on something because you never know when you will get better at it.  Never stop trying and never say that you can’t do something.

You should also be constantly trying new things because you never know when your perspectives will change on certain things.  I think you should always be open to trying new things, but that doesn’t mean that you have to like it.  You can also then say, “I tried blablabla this weekend and it was nothing like I thought it would be.”  And you never know, you might just end up liking that thing that you thought you wouldn’t like.

Nurturing the Leader Within Your Child (let’s just call it NtLWYC) is written from a Christian perspective, but it isn’t preachy. The book isn’t about saving your soul. It is all about leadership and how to prepare your child to assume the role of leader. There are two things that set NtLWYC apart from the mountains of parenting books on the shelves (and increasingly in the discount bins).

First, the book is focused like a laser on one singular aspect of parenting. Elmore doesn’t try to provide an all-in-one parenting omnibus. He tackles only one issue in this book – developing the leadership potential within your child. Although there are many peripheral benefits to be gained from the insights within the book, the focus remains squarely on the goal stated within the title.

Second, NtLWYC is more attainable and applicable than your typical parenting guide book. Elmore does digress into theory from time to time; it’s hard to go 220 pages without doing so. But I found nearly every chapter contained concrete actions that I could take to reach my parenting goal of inspiring the leader within my son.

Like many things in life, you’ll get out of the study questions at the end of each chapter in proportion to what you put into them. You could easily gloss over them casually if you choose, but if you want to dig deep with them, they’ll take you places beyond the scope of the book. From the very first query at the end of the first chapter that questioned my own motivations for undertaking this quest, I found the Reflect and Respond questions to be an excellent starting point for both introspection and outward actions.

NtLWYC has been out for ten years now, and other than a few dated references (when is the last time you heard anyone talk about Norman Schwarzkopf?) it stands up well among more recent works on the subject.

Diapers – check…layette – complete…crib – ready.

Then, maybe during the night, when you’ve finally settled yourself into a comfortable sleep, or maybe during the day, as you reach for a file at work, your water breaks. Or you get a phone call or text from your loved one, her contractions have started. It is time, time to welcome a new person into your life.

You are ready, but have you truly prepared yourself for the always exciting, never-ending, completely exhausting, and utterly rewarding role of parent?

Check out my breakdown of the word – parent – below. I don’t know you personally, but I do know the following advice will come in handy as you embark on the fabulous journey of being a mom or dad.

P – Patience.
Making the transition to parent requires extreme patience. I guarantee there will be times when you feel that you’ve reached the end of your rope. Maybe you haven’t slept in what seems like days, or you don’t feel well, but remain patient with your infant. Soon, the grueling days will end, and you will be rewarded in ways you never imagined.

A – Acceptance.
Your baby has colic – accept it! Breastfeeding didn’t work out – accept it! He or she can’t sit up yet, but your friend’s baby who is the same age can – accept it! Life throws you curve balls, little snags you don’t expect. The faster you learn to accept reality, and cherish the amazing child you have, the better! Accept the baby, and accept yourself.

R – Rest. This means you! Both mom and dad need plenty of rest the first month after baby is born. You’ve probably heard this advice before, but it must be heeded. Rest when you can; being a parent is physically and mentally exhausting.

E – Enjoy.
Try not to take yourself too seriously at this special time. Baby will be fine. Not every decision is monumental. Sometimes new parents strive for perfection, instead of just enjoying their new little one. The first year of life literally zooms by, so don’t waste a moment being too hard on yourself.

N – Nurture.
Of course you will nurture your newborn. Don’t forget to nurture yourself and your relationships as well. Depending on your personality, you may only need a quick trip to the store to recharge your batteries, or you may need one night of uninterrupted sleep in order to feel better, but do nurture yourself. And make time to be a couple.

T – Trust.
Trust your instincts when it comes to your son or daughter. Only a parent knows what is best for his or her baby. You will receive both wanted and unwanted advice, so prepare yourself to implement useful information and to discard outdated or unwanted notions.

Congratulations – you are a parent!

You have to acknowledge your feelings on leaving your child. It is as painful for you as it is for them. The emotions are normal. Cry, if you need to. After all, there is no active little boy or girl running around getting underfoot all the time. The silence is deafening with no constant chatter and endless repetition of certain words. The house can seem like a very lonely place.

The best way to deal with your separation anxiety is to distract yourself. There is a ton of stuff you can do now that they are at daycare. You can tackle that big project that you have been putting off because little hands have been grabbing everything in their reach. You can actually have a clean house until after you pick them up. You can run those errands at the grocery store without a fit being thrown because you bypassed their favorite cereal or they wanted a candy bar at the cash register. You no longer have to watch cartoons. You now have something that is precious to all parents with children, alone time.

If you find yourself thinking of your toddler, grab their pictures and begin organizing them. Before you know it, the time will have flown by. Getting them organized helps you deal with your separation because you are holding pictures of them. They are priceless moments and getting a head start now will help you later on when they do come home. Just remember to clean up the photos before you pick them up. Otherwise, you might find that precious moment in a complete mess.

If you are finding yourself wanting to drive to the daycare, do it. Volunteer some of your time in their classroom. It will give you an indication of what they are learning and how well they are getting along with other children. Mommy or Daddy is still the number one person in their lives but now they get to have some fun with kids their own age. Just familiarize yourself with the rules the school establishes for visitors.

Time will help you to adjust to the new routine. Both of you will get used to the time spent away from each other. Soon, you will be looking forward to all the things you can get done in the time you have to yourself.