Positive Parenting Tips

Earning the Life-long Trust of your Family.

• Treasure it ~~It is impossible to effectively lead your family if no one trusts you. Think about the incredible amounts of time, effort, and commitment required to gain a level of trust that can be destroyed in a heartbeat. It is impossible to overrate the importance of trust.



• Think Long-Term ~~ Ask yourself, 'Am I going to be leading this family for a day, or for a lifetime?'. The quickest way to lose the trust of your family is to make decisions based on short-term thinking.



• Positive Parenting Tip # 3 ~~"Trust, but Verify" ~~It's a mistake to encourage your family to trust without the ability for honest questioning. Most people, especially children are so eager to trust that they'll do it too quickly and get hurt badly when the truth is revealed. Even God says to "Taste and see that I am good!".



• So Help you God. ~~ Make a point of telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If you screw up...fess up!
  Full transparency is the best way to gain the confidence of your family.

In Parenting...."To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved ~~ George MacDonald

• Buy What you're Selling ~~ Make it a point not to say anything that you don't believe. John Bogel, CEO of Vanguard Group says, "People can spot a phony a thousand miles away...They perceive very quickly what's right and wrong."




• Air Dirty Laundry Quickly ~~ Within reason, always give bad news quickly and don't sugar coat it. Like a dirty sock, bad news smells worse if it's hidden.



• Positive parenting Tip #7 ~~ Run from the Law ~~ Don't depend on a list of rules & regulations to mandate the trust of your family. There's no substitute for winning respect from the heart. It's a bit harder, but well worth the effort.



• Protect & Defend ~~ Insist on building a solid reputation of trust with your family. If you focus on the big picture this way, you'll be forgiven a lot faster for minor mistakes.



• Make it Personal ~~ Parenting from a distance is bad parenting. Get to know the likes and dislikes of your family. Find out what makes them laugh, cry, or otherwise show emotion. Show them the same things about you. If you let them in to the "theater of your humanity" and they'll be more likely to trust you.



• Become an Evangelist ~~ Communicate the importance of trust constantly. Use family meetings, videos, mealtimes, cards, letters, vacations........anything that will help you drive home the message of trust.

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