Our Expectations

Hello everyone!

I am researching how parent help to motivate their children for a paper I am writing. If you could answer these questions for me, I would be very thankful.

Louella

Parents:
How many children do you have? What ages are they?
What do you do to help motivate your children? To do chores, to complete homework (or other learning activities), to be independent
Do you use rewards on a regular basis to convince your children to do things? What are the rewards (candy, tv time, parent time, …)?

Over the past few weeks my 16yr old daughter has been aiming to get her spiritual life back on track after several months of mixing in with the wrong boy. During that time her freedoms were shortened and I often questioned her actions and requests.

That was a long haul for both of us. Truly. But one morning not too many weeks ago she realized, with the help of a dream, that I wasn't too far off the mark after all. She set a goal and steps to achieve it. One thing she really needed was to surround herself with positive peers.

Hello everyone!

A friend of mine and I were talking about a parents role with the 17 - 18 year old child while they remained in the home and how involved that role should be. Many moms in our group think we are to step out of the picture at this age and simply observe from the sidelines, letting our kids meet natural consequences.

I don't know how many of you have had to face this in your own homes but I must say that I am experiencing a first here in my own. My teen daughter has become a pro at constantly retaliating everything I say with, "Why don't you trust me!" and if that fails she will often resort to, "Why to you have to make me feel bad?"

I listened to the news yesterday with sadness and in shock. The said a new poll reveals that over 70% of teenagers are pessimistic about their future. Included in the description of pessimistic was that:
they are not hopeful about their careers or future, they believe they will die young, and they do not think their life counts. These feelings lead to them taking more risks and engaging in unsafe behavior, such as casual sex and suicide.

My oldest daughter Danielle has always been very eager to help others in her life and has never hesitated to offer her assistance. She never seems to concern herself with whether or not she can, has time, or will be rewarded. She simply jumps in and picks up some weight. I have always admired this in her. Her willingness to help came into play a few months back when I was attending a class full of moms striving to learn more about themselves as parents. These women came from many different backgrounds and faced different challenges as parents.