Growing up my siblings and I spent a lot of time listening to Dr. James Dobson. I remember Dr. James Dobson on the radio. I felt highly conflicted about it at the time because he gave my mom lots of good ideas in how to raise us, ideas that conflicted with what we the kids were doing and what we wanted. Even though we often resisted the changes my mom implemented, it always became clear that it was working. It is clearly evident that his strategies about child rearing and living the Christian life worked for me. Even now I can still hear his voice. Prior to having my first child, my mom sent me of one his books about "The New Raising a Strong Willed child." My mom is also a book lover she loves sending books to all of her children and grandchildren to read. I often feel intimidated with her book choices because the books are a bit deeper and more complex than I am use to reading. However lately, I have found the books to be quite intriguing.
My mom is like me she is innovated and far ahead of her time. She has a great ability to adapt to difficult situations and she does that by constantly watching and listening to Christian tv and media sources. She soaks up information and then tends to unveil it like Mary Poppins at unusual times. Don't get me wrong my mom is a fighter and a complete Mama Bear when it comes to her family, she had to be, she raised five strong willed children. I think she prescribes to the same thinking as Jamie Lee Curtis that if you mess with my kids you mess with me. She also prescribed to the African proverb it takes a village to raise children. I agree to those ideals as well in order to raise healthy children they must be able to bend when necessary and stand firm during difficult times. They need to be resilient. They also need plenty of wisdom to know the difference and where do we get wisdom from our elders. I hope that as I continue raising my children that I continue to be open to innovative ideas that help propel me and my family into new areas of discovery and greatness. She is one of two people who encouraged me to participate in the First program when I was teaching. It was an intensive 3 year leadership pilot training program for educators. At the time I was greatly puzzled why she and my academic bestie wanted to join up. In my eyes it was overkill, but now I realized that it was completely and totally ingenious.
Citations
Dr. James Dobson: The New Raising a Strong Willed Child
Focus on the Family: https://www.focusonthefamily.com
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