Crowell’s Life Skills for Effective Parenting

by Fred Crowell

The Difference: A Relentless Pursuit of Excellence

The difference between poor and good; good and great; great and excellence is a “never quit” mind set. The difference between success and failure is a thin line. The relentless pursuit of excellence is the single most important life skill for children to learn. It makes all the difference. As Paul Meyer, author and founder of Leadership Management International once stated, “Success is the progressive realization of predetermined, worthwhile, personal goals.” As you read the following Crowell Life Skill for effective Parenting, practice integrating it into your life, and begin to set specific goals starting today that will lead to success tomorrow.

3 Master Keys: Opening the Door to Successful Parenting

1. Teaching is not telling; teaching is clearly communicating accurate knowledge and understanding. Knowledge is the art of knowing; understanding is the act of doing. A child cannot do it unless they know it; they cannot understand it unless they can see it in action. Parents must master the art of knowing life skills and modeling these skills in their own lives.
2. Encouragement improves listening. The most effective way to teach is to speak LIFE, not death, to your child. Praise is always superior to criticism. Encouragement is the art of bringing courage to a child. The wise parent becomes a master in bringing courage to their child.
3. Correction is guidance; the light in darkness, the rudder on the ship. Without expert guidance, a shuttle would miss the moon completely. Without, correction, a rocket would be off-target ninety-nine percent of the time. The self-correction devices guarantee that a ship will reach the correct target. Encouragement without correction is flattery. Likewise, correction without encouragement is cruelty.

When a parent fails to teach the child, that parent cheats the child. The child does not learn to compete in a very tough world. Similarly, when a parent fails to encourage, the child competes from a position of disadvantage. He/she inevitably experiences a lack of poise and confidence. A parent’s failure to correct may result in a child’s self-indulgence while over-correction often produces a destructively defeatist attitude. Thus, a parent must find a balance between under and over-correction.

Practice:

1. Today set a goal to “Coach” your child to accomplish a task or understand a principle you want them to learn. The task maybe to brush their teeth regularly, “Coach” them based on the “Teaching” definition in the first Master Key above.
2. Today set a goal to encourage your child three times for accomplishing a task. Maybe it’s brushing their own teeth without being asked.
3. Today set a goal to compliment your child three times to every correction.

Resources:

Meet My Head Coach, by Fred Crowell

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