“Do as I say, not as I do”
Betty O’Connell
As a child, I did not appreciate my mom’s words about the misalignment between her values and actions. It just sounded like a way for an adult to make a child do something they were not doing. After last week’s webinar by Challenge Success, I can see my mom was on to something many families struggle with.
For those of us who attended The Well-Balanced Student workshop by Laura Easley of Challenge Success, there were some “ah ha” moments as many of us realized we are a bit like “my mother.” Our actions do not always match our “stated” values, and our children can be confused and stressed by this misalignment.
One of my takeaways from the webinar was how much children believe the path to success is a straight line from school to a successful career and happiness. As adults, we understand that life is full of mistakes, and they help us grow as people, build resilience, and open new opportunities. Children overwhelmingly believe one must get good grades to get into an excellent university to have a successful and happy life.
But life is more like the path below, failures, u-turns, and redo’s.
80% of adults report that their path to success and happiness is similar to the squiggly line, but the message that children internalize is that the only way is the narrow path.
More importantly, though, the webinar drove home the importance of PDF: Playtime, Downtime, and Family Time. Challenge Success does a great job defining what makes each of these “times” highly effective in creating a healthy family and children. Take a moment to check out their tip sheets here.
Lastly, for further resources, you can check out the Challenge Success Resource Center, which has plenty of excellent tips and information on healthy children and families.
In partnership,
David
If you would like to view a recording of the webinar, click here.
FRIDAY BLOG 
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