Purposeful Parenting and Overcoming Challenges

Guest blogger Erik Youngman’s blogs on purposeful parenting and learning from challenges embrace the following ten practical approaches to parenting:

1. Through positive, patient, and purposeful problem-solving, parents can model effective limit setting for their children. This includes clearly defined boundaries and goals for daily living.
2. Parents incorporate play in project-based learning activities at home. These may include messy art projects, science explorations, performing arts, creative writing, and sports.
3. Children are encouraged to ponder and creatively reflect on their various learning activities for continuous improvement and growth.
4. Kids learn to pivot and respond resiliently to life’s great adventures and challenges.
5. Parents encourage their children to embrace and learn from mistakes and challenges.
6. Children effectively manage daily challenges through time management and understanding their family’s clearly defined boundaries.
7. Parents help their children overcome difficulties by modeling effective problem-solving skills and encouraging new skill development.
8. When students own their learning challenges, they identify how they can overcome learning and skill development difficulties and ask for help for added guidance.
9. Children are inspired to do their best through resourceful goal setting and self-self-assessments.
10. When parents collaborate with their children’s teachers, they can help their children ask deliberate questions, model through example, and encourage classmate support.

Additional effective parenting approaches to learning are described in Student-Engaged Assessment: Strategies to Empower All Learners. When parents take the time to listen to their children’s needs, dreams, and desires, their children feel loved and validated.

May you embrace the incredible learning possibilities that your children can share with you throughout their developmental milestones and academic accomplishments.