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Health – Parenting Competency # 8  

Health comes up toward the end of our list of parenting competencies.  How is health a parenting competency?  It is about how parents model a healthy lifestyle and good habits such as regular exercise and a healthy diet.  It seems obvious but perhaps warrants some further thought.

First, the operative word here is model, not teach.  What parents do themselves carries much more weight with their children than what they tell their children.  The old “do what I say and not what I do” tends to not carry much authority.  I have had the experience of working with parents who smoke, but desperately want their children not to smoke.  Several have been dismayed to find out that their smoking seems to carry much more weight with their adolescent children than the health and other issues they experience and put forward as reasons why their children shouldn’t smoke.

This does kind of fit in with a theme that goes across a number of these parenting competencies.  It is worth it, in fact necessary, for parents to take proper care of themselves, physically and emotionally, to be good parents.  Parent self care is a plus for parenting rather than a selfish focus on their own needs and interests.

It is difficult to believe that Summer is about half over.  Nevertheless, it is.  I have to hide the back to school sale flyers from my wife as she’s not ready to contemplate it yet.

This big news is we are gearing up to leave for a two week vacation to Alaska at the end of the month.  First a week cruising up there from Vancouver and then another week seeing Alaska.  The first week is a celebration of my in laws 50th wedding anniversary.

I mentioned the cruise in my last newsletter and talked about my in laws as a “big cruising family.”  My father in law was a little offended (OK, I really think he was joking) and asked if I couldn’t characterize them as a “big vacationing family.”  We didn’t bother to figure out the portion of those vacation days spent on a cruise ship.  I was really pleased that he also said I’m part of the family now.  It is nice to be included.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. 

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