CIVILIZING THE KIDS
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The purpose of this book is to present an uncomplicated way to help parents prepare their children for positive and productive living.
There are rational and sensible ways to raise our kids. Thoughtful parenting can show children how to be self-reliant and self-governing. Parents can enable kids to take charge of themselves and make smart choices throughout their lives. Our impulse is to protect them from adversity, but they need to know how to swim, rather than have us guard all the lakes and streams they might encounter.
In the not too distant past, self-sufficiency was at the heart of our society. Children assumed responsibilities that seemed beyond their years, but it was considered essential. Today's environment undermines personal responsibility in a myriad of ways, and adults commonly lament that kids have no sense of personal accountability. We wonder how we can prepare our kids for such a world and lead them to develop a positive attitude. Children can be guided to what one must do for self-realization by engendering a sense of trust, integrity and ability to self-manage.
Parents cannot guarantee success for their children, but they can certainly improve the odds. With consistent guidance we can show them how to live together harmoniously.
Giving kids a set of values and a life-affirming way of thinking about themselves and their relationships with others will be invaluable to them for their whole life. Each of us is unique, and yet we can live together agreeably by reasoned consideration, respect of differing opinions, and by resolving conflicts.
The book will feature a working model, Framework for a Family Philosophy. Its design is based on my experience as a father raising five children. Parents can use the model as a guide in developing their own approach to parenting. The guide has relevance for children from kindergarten through the teen years. At its core is a personal value system that shows how one must honor one's own Self-Interest, Achievement, and Relationships in order to have a balanced and healthy life.
The on-going health of society depends on adults passing along the lessons of individual integrity, trust, and the ability to self-manage to our children. This is the aim of Civilizing the Kids.
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