Stick-to-it!

I'm trying to be a stick-to-it Mom...trying to raise stick-to-it kids. Stick-to-it? Responsible, dedicated, full of integrity, trusted, dependable, motivated, self-disciplined, reliable - shall I go on? It isn't easy in this world of Me, Me, Me - Now, Now, Now. But it can be done.

We need to start with ourselves. Before we can have stick-to-it kids, we need to be stick-to-it mom's. We need to be the example we want our children to be. I need to be responsible. I need to be dependable. I need to be motivated and self-disciplined. For example, how can we expect to have children who are reliable if we ourselves are not reliable?

My mother is the ultimate Stick-to-it Mother. My quick definition above describes her so well. As a child, I knew she would make the potato salad I was supposed to bring to the youth barbecue. I knew she would pick me up when she said she would. She instilled in me a desire to be responsible, to do what I said I'd do, to work hard and so many other things I can't possibly list. She passed that along to me. And so it goes...

Children have a yearning for direction and discipline. They need to be taught the rules, the values, the expectations and have experiences to practice and live them. I've been in the child-rearing trenches for 17 wonderful years. 8 children later, I'm still ever-learning. By no means do I have all the answers nor the perfect children because there is no such thing. But I'm proud to say we're winning the stick-to-it war. Each moment, each day is a little battle. As we parents plan, strategize, instruct and train these little people with love, we will win a great war - raising productive children with character and virtue, in spite of the negative influences of the world. What a marvelous responsibility we have in preparing our children for the many aspects of life!

We all need a little help once in a while. That's what Stick-to-it Charts is all about; a place for ideas, a source for tools, a morale booster for parents.

More to come, but until then...Stick-to-it!!