The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Timeless Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children

2. Take perspective. Spend another moment to see if you can put yourself in your child’s shoes with a sense of empathy and compassion. We tend to treat our children’s behavior as we would a math problem. Instead, look at your children as you might a beautifully told story—with an attitude of appreciation. You and your children are about to write the n

Children love it when parents take them seriously and recognize them as real people with their own tastes. Like all human beings, children crave respect. They like to know why they are doing things, and they balk at demands for unquestioning obedience.

Children internalize protection, safety, freedom, success, and self-esteem from nonnegotiable rules and negotiable rules. Despair and failure come from rigidity, criticism, marshmallowing, and abandonment.

Do not spoil your children; instead, give them responsibilities early on. A child who is catered to constantly comes to expect it, and is destined to be both dissatisfied with the world beyond his natal home…

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