Liberty Begins At Home

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You may have heard you learn some 90% of what you teach others. So what better opportunity do you have to learn than teaching someone who doesn’t know anything?

The biggest challenge of parenting is preparing your kids to live in this world on their own. And not just live, but thrive. Because what’s more crushing to a parent than watching a child struggling not knowing where to go?

The good news is kids want to be around their parents and learn from them. So how do we rise to the challenge of teaching our kids in our era of endless distractions?

Why not start with a look back to what got us here.

Roots in the Past

I grew up in a generation where my parents saved to send me to college. This was a wonderful privilege, but there was too much focus on school.

Yes, there were good memories. But the times I could have grown from more responsibility outside the house I squandered on leisure.

And there’s no fault to cast. They were just reacting to the way their parents raised them. Parents who survived the Great Depression, who served in World War 2 and Korea. Where their parents jumped between jobs to make ends meet, they worked hard to build a stable life.

That’s what they wanted for me, too.

That left me staring at a lifetime of government jobs. Good paying, for sure, and it gave me a stable childhood. But there was something missing between that path and the way I wanted to spend my life.

There is the benefit of public service in a government job. But I felt too far removed from accountability for my actions in coming to work every day.

Living in the Weeds

And it took me a while afterward to figure out what I needed to be when I grew up. That came with plenty of twists, turns, heartaches, and sleepless nights wondering if I was on the right path. It made it miserable on the rest of my family, too. Especially when learning to provide for myself and my family outside of a government job.

Maybe it’s the final answer. Or maybe it will change again. Or maybe this mid-life crisis that’s persisted since I turned 30 will never truly end.

You probably have a similar story with what you learned from your parents. And, like me, you want something better for your kids.

But in our time, we are more prone to bounce between distractions rather than develop our kids. And nothing breaks my heart more than seeing a kid on a tablet while sitting at a playground.

So, how can you…

1. Provide a good life for your kids while they’re with you
2. Give them a path toward self-sufficiency they’ll enjoy
3. Strengthen your relationship with them and
4. Learn even more from what you teach them?

Especially in a world where it’s too easy to put your kids in front of a screen whenever you want to do something.

Making Room To Grow

There’s plenty you can do. And for most of them you don’t even have to leave the house.

Read a good book together

This should be a story that increases their value as a human being in their own eyes. The Chronicles of Narnia is a great series and accessible for grade schoolers. So are the Tuttle Twins stories.

Play a board game

Especially if it deals with life skills or strategic thinking.

I grew up learning money management from counting the coins in my parent’s change can. So I focused on building slow wealth with savings accounts.

Now, Cashflow for Kids is a favorite in my house for learning personal finance. Everyone can see how inflows need to exceed outflows.

Do schoolwork and chores together

Life is more than pure leisure. We’re also made to do work and your attitude toward it sets the example. Plus, sometimes you just need to enjoy a clean room or clean dishes. Even if letting them do it takes longer, chores take even longer when you’re overloaded doing everything yourself.

Also, working my kids through their homeschool curriculum lets me relearn the basics. This is especially true for English and History.

And with Math, I can find creative ways for my kids to overcome blocks to their understanding. Like breaking down “long division” into subtraction and single-digit multiplication.

Answer their questions when they’re curious

You don’t know everything, but you don’t have to either. Give kids straight answers that are appropriate to their age if you do know something about it. And if you don’t, look it up together.

From Weeds to Thorns to Sky

I won’t lie. This takes work. Especially when you want to build on what your parents put into you.

It can feel easy to put your kid in front of a screen so you can have quiet time with other adults. And there are times when you want to distract them. Just enough so they stay alive while you have a conversation.

It’s not life to focus only on school to open up opportunities. Neither is it life to sit in front of a screen to keep them from playing on the furniture. Kids need the space to learn from taking risks and get feedback from their environment. Much like our parents and grandparents did.

There are plenty of worthwhile ideas, values, and media available to teach them. But the most important thing is for you to make time for them. Person to person.

Remember, you spent the energy to make them. And they want to be around you and learn from you.

Now you can grow even more. Invest in your kids and enjoy their company so they come out to be adults who can stand on their own. And they may even have something interesting to talk about while they’re around you.

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