Bill Corbett

Teaching Them to Say It. The phrase "Thank You" seems to lose its value when used too often or when it’s hard to embrace being thankful; so how about changing the word to bring it more into your child’s consciousness. Create some opportunity to enjoy diversity by teaching your child how to say thank you in a different language. My grandparents came to this country as immigrant children from Poland. They taught me to say thank you in their native language as Dziekuje (approximate pronunciation JE • KOO • YUH). I found an Internet Web site that has the expression thank you translated in over 465 languages: http://www.elite.net/~runner/jennifers/thankyou.htm. Similar sites can be located through your Internet search engine (such as Google or Yahoo). Helping Them to Visualize It. Regular meetings are an integral part of generating a strong family. This get-together held a few times a month helps develop the family as a loving team. One possible activity in a family meeting ...

It was a call for help from a parent I once helped with parent coaching, about eight years earlier and 1000 miles away in another state. As she explained how I had helped her immensely in raising her two little girls, who were aged 6 and 8 at the time, it didn’t take long to refresh my memory as to how we had crossed paths at one of my earliest parent lectures. Admitting she incorporated most of my advice, she revealed that she was calling for desperate help with one particular issue that she regretted not heeding advice in my teaching - no cell phones or online social networking tools for children. What Was Once Cute and Innocent This desperate mom explained how she allowed her girls to have cell phones at an early age, pressured by the influence of “everyone else was letting their kids have phones, so what was the big deal.” She went on to tell me that it was cute in the beginning when they were little, texting a few of their little friends and getting so excited, sharing informa...