motivating our children is a never ending, no rules, hands on, day by day occupation. children enter the world without an instruction manual, and continually force us to make and break rules. t

he times we tear our hair out our outweighed by the times are hearts melt in awe of our offspring. only later do we realize that even pulling our hair amounts to a good time never to be regained again.

there are parents who adopt a hands off approach to raising kids. let them fend for themselves. if something goes wrong all we need to do is blame the child. afterall, they were reponsible for what they learned.

there is another way to approach raising children. the motivating children - ideabook contains hundreds of ways to help children grow stronger and healthier without at the same time beating them into the ground with what we believe is right.

that doesn't mean that we allow them autonomy. it simply means we provide the framework and they provide the content. they will in any case. at least this way we won't be upset when they do. our children thinking for themselves is exactly what we want.

the phrase by kahilil gibran has been repeated to the point of exhaustion, yet that does in no way remove its significant meaning. our children are not your children. i used to give talks in which i would suggest that our children are in fact our teachers. i have since learned the veracity of those words.

it requires a shift in attitudes, but by opening our eyes and ears and examinging our own prejudices our children will help us achieve and broader understanding of our own selves. teaching our children means first allowing them to teach us.