A few weeks ago I witnessed something that made me smile and also verified that at least one of our children feels lucky to be in our home.  Whether our children are really lucky or not… perception is reality, right? 🙂

Our youngest son was under the porch chair playing with the cats (yes the infamous wild cats tamed with love that I wrote about a few months ago).  Roxanne and I were sitting there reading and we heard him singing a little song.  Looking under the couch to see what was going on we saw him holding the cats singing “We have a good home, we have a good home”.  It seems that he has bought into the idea that’s it’s nice to be part of the Thayne clan, in spite of our weaknesses.

In a country where so many youth grow up feeling picked on if their parents require much of them, I suggest that you teach your children as youngsters how blessed they are to grow up a home where they are loved, taken care of, AND taught responsibility.  Kids with parents who love them and expect things from them need to know how lucky they really are because they have adults who actually care enough to teach them what kinds of skills it will take to succeed in the real world and in adult life.  There are too many examples of parents who didn’t require much of their kids, and they continually struggle on things that could have been corrected at a very young age.

While your children are home, unless they’ve been taught otherwise, they will think that the cool parents are those that give their kids more freedom and less responsibility that you do.  Or they will think that someone else has it better because of X,Y, & Z.  It’s just another way you can educate yourself and them so you wont feel insecure with the inevitable “So and so doesn’t have to…” that teens will throw at you when you pull them out of bed in the morning.

Every home has its problems and you should acknowledge that yours isn’t perfect, but if you have a good home, let them know it!

To Family Success and Happiness!

Tim R. Thayne, Ph.D.
Founder/CEO
Homeward Bound
www.homewardbound.net

P.S. How do you help your children realize they have a good life?  I encourage you to post your comments here!