Teaching your parents well . . .

As teachers we are often called upon by parents for advise on how to improve home life so that students are better able to succeed.  I don't like to give parents specific advice, which can often be misunderstood as telling parents what to do or accusing parents of not running a proper home.  Instead, I like to point them to different websites that I believe they will find helpful in developing, implementing or modifying their ideas on parenting.

I have to admit I am a New Age-y, love-a-thon type of parent myself, so most of the sites I find are of this type.  Some parents appreciate them and others don't, but to my mind, I am providing them with the best information I have. 

One website I stumbled upon that I found interesting was The Missing Secret to Parenting, a take off on the popular book The Secret, a proponent of the Law of Attraction (LOA).  At its most basic, the LOA posits that we attract into our life those things which we mirror.  In other words, if we want to have loving children, we must show them love.  If we want our children to love learning, we must show them the way.

Of special interest to me was a recent article, How Do Your Children Start Their Day?   The piece talks about how parents help set the tone for their childrens' day by what they say and the behavior they model.  It is also helpful for teachers to consider how they start their day with their students.  Do you start the day dreading the eventual acts of misbehavior or apathy from students or do you start the day with high hopes and anticipation?  Either way, the law of attraction says you're likely to get whichever one you expect.