Comments on: Your Home: A Sanctuary That Needs TLC (Tender Loving Care)

By: Brenda Nixon

Brenda Nixon — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:07:22 +0000

Good blog. When my girls were going through school, I used to tell them, “Do your own personal best,” so hopefully they wouldn’t compare themselves to others.

By: anne

anne — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:58:14 +0000

Thank you so much for this very personally needed inspiration. I realized last June that I was drinking too much. I decided to go into rehab. I was there for ten days. I also chose to be honest with my employers. I had worked for fifteen years and my drinking had not affected my work place. I lost my job due to this admission (a law suit is pending) My daughter blames our financial situation on my past behavior. While it’s true that had I never drank I never would have made the admission that led to my dismissal, it was not my drinking that lost me my job. I am struggling to survive and my relationship with my daughter is so important to me. I want to believe that though I taught her some hard life lessons she will also one day value the stregnth it takes to do the next right thing. That day seems a long way off if coming at all. Your words give hope that the future for us will be better than the present. Thank you.

By: Beth Harris

Beth Harris — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:37:10 +0000

Bravo for you and bringing this to parent’s attention. I have raised two children with this things in mind and both with disabilities. They have each taken a different path but paying attention to their interests and unique characters paid off. They are tax paying, law abiding, and working citizens. Both would comment that they were treated as individuals with there own dreams. It is hard to get through the tough years when other parents bost on what there kids are doing (running here and there and never having any down time with family) Don’t fill so much time and then your kids can explore they’re abilities and passions.

By: rosalindsedacca

rosalindsedacca — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:31:24 +0000

Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Tina.

Responsibility is the key word when it comes to parenting and all our relationships. If we don’t take responsibility for our decisions and actions we are no longer behaving as mature adults. As role models for our children the spotlight is always upon us to take the high road, stand up to our obligations and own our behavior — even when we’d rather turn around and hide. A parent who can admit their own mistakes models how we expect our children to behave in their own lives. We all benefit from responsible parenting — and the results live with us for decades to come.

Rosalind Sedacca, CCT
The Voice of Child-Centered Divorce
http://www.childcentereddivorce.com

By: Lucy Collini

Lucy Collini — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:34:18 +0000

My sentiments exactly!!

By: Maggie Macaulay

Maggie Macaulay — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:31:55 +0000

Thanks, Tina. At Whole Hearted Parenting we’ve been talking to parents a lot lately about how to talk to their children when a role model like Michael Phelps makes a very public mistake that has some swift consequences. Two important points are (1) that mistakes are how we learn and (2) that having an inquiry with your child about their role model’s choices and what may be beneath the surface can be a rich learning experience. This is a great time to side-step judging mistakes and to talk instead about the consequences and intentions. I will put a link to your always awesome blog in the next issue of Parenting News, the free weekly e-zine from the International Network for Children and Families. Visit http://www.WholeHeartedParenting.com to subscribe.

By: Lisa Cassilli

Lisa Cassilli — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:07:53 +0000

Excellent and inspirational…we need to learn to forgive ourselves and, in turn, our children will learn to take their own mistakes in stride.