My husband and I have a 22 year old daughter and a 14 year old son. Our poor daughter being the victim of first time parents didn\’t have the advantage of an older sibling for us to practice on. Now that she\’s 22 she has proven to be a beautiful, thoughtful, creative person with goals and dreams. Fortunately for us we must have done something right but it was difficult for all of us getting her through the teenage years. Our son now has the advantage of us learning a few things from our mistakes with our daughter and what we\’ve learned has made getting him to 14 a little easier for us. I hope this little tidbit of information can help you too.

About two to three times weekly we would receive a call from the school saying that our daughter was absent from one or more classes. This was strange to us since we knew she went to school. So where was she? She would come home like nothing happened and when we asked her about it she would say the teacher messed up or she was there and the teacher didn\’t see her, whatever her excuse. But there was always a fight involved and she would end up crying in her room and screaming about how much she hated us.

Our son on the other hand attends his classes every day and we haven\’t had any issues with him going absent while we know he\’s at school. I\’m not saying he\’s the perfect child but at least I know he\’s where he needs in be while at school.

So what did we do differently? Well I think it\’s just simply that we gave our son choices while he was growing up. Our daughter on the other hand was told what to do every step of the way. The difference looks something like this. \”Daughter, it\’s time to get your homework done, now!\” or in comparison \”Son, would you like to get your homework done now or after dinner?\” Either way the homework will get done, but now our son had an option.

We would also often ask him if he wanted to get something done the hard way or the easy way. We believe that giving him the freedom of choice showed him that we were willing to give him control of his options. Rather than us as parents demanding complete control over him, we allowed him to have some control of himself.

In this way he felt that we were showing him that we respected his choices and that we trusted that he was capable of making the right choice. We opened a path of respect and love between us that will only flourish as long as we continue give freedom with choices. It isn\’t too late for our daughter either. We\’ve started using this practice on her now and we have a stronger more loving relationship than we\’ve ever enjoyed with her too.

Make a choice to practice a small change in your home and your life or business. Rather than trying to have full control and trying to make others around you obey your wishes, build a relationship of trust and freedom instead. And if you\’re an entrepreneur, as you practice this small change, others will see your example and naturally be compelled to follow you. Best wishes for you and your family and business.

Sydney and her husband Glen enjoy being in nature, hiking, canoeing, fishing, and camping.They\’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit that drove them to find a business they could work from home. However they both had good jobs that held them firmly in their comfort zone.The problem was they didn\’t have the freedom they wanted to do what they love and enjoy. Here is more information on the solution they found to give them the freedom they craved.Check us out here http://SystemStepByStep.com

Sydney Dinsmore and her husband Glen have always had an entrepreneurial spirit that drove them to find a business they could work from home.They wanted to take control of their lives. If you\’re ready to take control check out the solution they found http://SystemStepByStep.com

Author Bio: Sydney and her husband Glen enjoy being in nature, hiking, canoeing, fishing, and camping.They\’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit that drove them to find a business they could work from home. However they both had good jobs that held them firmly in their comfort zone.The problem was they didn\’t have the freedom they wanted to do what they love and enjoy. Here is more information on the solution they found to give them the freedom they craved.Check us out here http://SystemStepByStep.com

Category: Parenting
Keywords: entrepreneur,business,self improvement,love,relationship,teen,daughter,son,choice,control,freedom