Parenting For Humanity Blog

This week we will be talking about being able to see the perspective of the world from our child’s eyes…but I thought in the meantime, I’d get you thinking about your own perspective.

Somehow every summer I have these big dreams that are so unrealistic and yet I have a hard time letting them go. I’m going to catch up on all my paperwork, do all the spring maintenance on the house, plan tons of fun connecting family activities, and just relax by the pool. Yeah, right. Are you like me in that you have overly high expectations of the summer? (I’ve been writing about this on my personal blog). I know I just need to get a different perspective — but it’s something that is practically impossible to do, at least for me, without tossing ideas around with other people.

We are almost out of questions to answer on the radio show, plus we will be choosing the next batch of topics and we need to know what you want to hear about! So I will ask you this – what is really getting in the way right now for you? What issue do you need to see in a different light, to get some ideas for tools to get unstuck? Is it making more personal time without compromising the needs of your family? Is it getting more sleep? More communication?

Let us know what feels stuck to you. Comment here, or if you prefer, email us at parentingforhumanity@gmail.com and tell us what name you would like to be identified by if we use your question on the show. And, please feel free to reply to people’s questions with ideas of your own – we want this to be a community discussion, not a top-down one, and all of you have a wealth of knowledge to share. (It’s so much easier to brainstorm ideas for others than oneself, isn’t it?)

Lastly, please consider calling into the show – Thursdays at 9 PST / noon EST. We’d love your comments, questions, and meanderings. No need to be formal or nervous – chat with us!! (646) 716-8259. (Remember we can’t hear you at all until we put you on the air, usually about 1/2 way through the show, but you are welcome to listen in from your phone until then).

Lisa

Help us get “Telenet” workshops off the ground! We are launching our series of experiential, virtual workshops using the phone and internet in July. The first series, Playful Parenting, will be free as part of our Pay-It-Forward Month – in lieu of payment we will ask you to do something to support a parent or family in your area.

Lisa Stroyan and Amy Makice both teach parenting workshops in a very interactive, nonjudgmental, and experiential format, and we find this model so powerful that we aren’t willing to let proximity get in the way. We plan to keep this format and we have some really fun ideas for using it over the phone. Don’t expect a lecture-format and come prepared to play!

Limited to 12 participants so sign up now to reserve your space.

I have to apologize; we forgot to post this message out in time so many of you didn’t realize the radio show has been moved to Thursday mornings, at 10am MST, noon Eastern time. You can still catch today’s show on the web at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/parenting/2008/06/19/Playful-Parenting , or sign up via itunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=280055905 .

To get email reminders of future shows, you can sign up for reminders at www.blogtalkradio.com/parenting

Our next show will be Getting Perspective: Do you ever wonder if your child is from a different planet? We’ll talk about perceptions — how different children and parent’s worlds are.  We’ll also give you our thoughts on whatever parenting questions you have.

One of my favorite authors is Larry Cohen who wrote Playful Parenting. Over the years, using play in various ways has helped us get out of so many difficult situations.

At first it felt like a huge burden. Why did I have to play with my son to get his cooperation? But quickly it became a connecting activity that we both enjoyed, and at worst it was better than the alternative (battles that are ubiquitous at that age).

Parenting playfully became a way of life for us for many years. Somehow, though, we have fallen out of it. He’s too old for most of the games we used, and I’ve gotten lazy.

So for our radio show this week, I’m happy to share some of the tips we used. However, I need your help with ideas too. Especially if you have older children, how do you keep things fun? Any ideas? They don’t have to be elaborate. How do you get your kids laughing and vice versa? How do you keep things from getting “too serious”, or do you? What about when you were growing up – was there laughter in your house?

Here’s an article I wrote with some ideas: Make It Fun!

I still go back to my original philosophy often – we don’t have to create hardship in order to teach that hardship exists in life. Instead, let’s teach that even through hardship, we can make the best of it. Life is not a race to see who finishes first – so how can we add fun to the journey?

Please leave your thoughts here, or call them into the show. We’ll meet you online for a discussion of “Parenting Playfully” at 10 MST, Thursday, June 19th – http://www.blogtalkradio.com/parenting/2008/06/19/Playful-Parenting or call us at (646) 716-8259.

Lisa Stroyan

P.S.  To get the book mentioned above and to support our site, click here.

Vacationing with children changes the whole dynamic of travel. How many parents return from spring break declaring, “I need a vacation!”? Let’s talk about ways to make your vacation restorative for the whole family.

This week we’re sharing our favorite travel hints- from long car rides to navigating airports while keeping track of your kids- we’re going to discuss sanity savers for parents and children.

After the show, keep your eyes here, and we’ll post links and tips shared by our community of listeners. Prior to the show, feel free to help us prepare by sharing your favorite travel hints and links.

Talk to you Friday!