Once there lived an ant and a grasshopper in a grassy meadow. All day long the ant would work hard, collecting grains of wheat from the farmer's field far away. She would hurry to the field every morning, as soon as it was light enough to see by, and toil back with a heavy grain of wheat balanced on her head.
There are events that change us. They permanently change who we are and who we will be.
These are the events that compel us to search our souls.
These are the events that force us to face emotions.
These are the events that push us to our limits and test to see just how far we can go.
These are the events that expose our vulnerability and emphasize our interdependence.
In the hours and days following these events, we cannot comprehend the change that has taken place.
Recently, MSNBC did a segment on education and the growing realization that academic ability is less likely to predict future success than qualities such as perseverance and resilience.
There is never enough time! It is the battle cry of the modern parent.
However, good parenting is about making smart investments with the equity of time.
Investing is not always easy: it takes the ability to forgo immediate pleasure in order to reap long-term benefits, a quality called delaying gratification.
The Marshmallow Test
My passion is resilience.
“It’s not what happens to you; It’s what you do with what happens to you,” is a mantra that my kids are certainly sick of, but someday, I hope that it will serve them well. I know that it is what sometimes gets me through the day.
My passion is resilience.
“It’s not what happens to you; It’s what you do with what happens to you,” is a mantra that my kids are certainly sick of, but someday, I hope that it will serve them well. I know that it is what sometimes gets me through the day.
Sometimes, the biggest roadblock to effective parenting is guilt. Our hearts are big. We hate seeing any child go through difficulty. When it is our own child, it is torturous. Seeing them suffer through any type of trauma cuts to the very core of our being. We feel guilty that our children have to endure whatever it is that they have been through and we want to “make it up” to them. Often, however, the ways that we try to “make it up” are not helpful.
The end of the school year is always a whirlwind--class parties, teacher gifts, performances, recitals, and the ever-present question: “What are your kids doing this summer?”
The end of the school year is always a whirlwind--class parties, teacher gifts, performances, recitals, and the ever-present question: “What are your kids doing this summer?”
The media is filled with news about bullying. The question is, does all of the attention help to decrease the bullying? Unfortunately, the answer is not clear.
