For parents with young kids realize that you will only get these years once. The effect they have on our children molds and shapes them for the rest of their life. How many times can we trace back memories of regret, low self-esteem only to regret them today? If we want our kids going in the right path, we have to build them up. That means even accepting their faults (it doesn’t mean not ignoring them) but not overreacting with outrageous punishments that don’t really hold up or change behavior. If we want to be the dominate influence and help our kids make it, let’s be there truly for them. I know parents who shut their cell phones off as soon as they get home until their kids are asleep. Let’s try being there, fully, for them.

Photo: David Straight by Unsplash