Asserting Parental Authority Without Being Authoritative, Part I

Many of us hold a wistful view of parenting.

Back in the “good old days” childrearing was simple. Parents used an authoritative approach, and their kids would listen and comply. By contrast, today’s parents have it much harder, and must deal with a myriad of challenges that our parents never faced.

But that thinking, too, has its flaws. Until the 1960s, authoritarian parenting was the way to go. It started to fall out of favor as society became more democratic and respect for authority began to show signs of cracking.

Preserving you: Preventing teacher burnout

Think of the first time you encountered teacher burnout. Where you were. What was going on at the time. The feelings. The experiences. The surroundings.

I'll tell you what it was for me. I was a new teacher in an Orthodox Jewish independent high school. I was fresh. I was idealistic. And I was going to change the world.

Each morning, my colleagues and I would convene in the teacher's lounge. On occasion, we would play a game.

Typically speaking, one doesn’t think of teacher lounges and games; there were no chess or Scrabble boards to be found. The game that we played had no name. I have named it in arrears the “make the calendar disappear” game.

How to stay productive with the kids home

My wife and I got an email late Thursday night that our kids’ schools were closing for Friday and all of this week at the minimum.

So, how will we stay productive with the kids home?

And, of course, we are not alone.

As COVID19 becomes more and more disruptive, many working parents, particularly those with young kids and without regular domestic help, are dealing with the added challenge of managing their workloads while providing proper care for their children.

Here are some strategies that can help working parents get through this trying period while still getting things done.

When to Keep Pushing or Pull Back?

Recently, I needed to have a service performed on my car, so I reached out to some providers. I had used one of them, who I’ll call Jake, in the past and was leaning towards doing so again. At the end, however, I decided to go with someone else and communicated my decision to Jake.

Unfortunately, Jake was not all too happy and would not leave me alone afterwards. Instead of accepting my decision, he continued to text and call me to try to discuss. I made clear that my decision had been made, but it took some time until the “harassment” ended.

Suffice it to say that Jake did not earn any credit towards future work with his choice of response.

After thinking about it, I started to realize that I have more Jake in me than I may care to admit.

Walking the tightrope of life

Too many folks have confused priorities or, at the least, lose out on the means in order to enjoy the ends. We all know that life is about more than money, perks and notoriety. We have to be able to live, not just work. And for too many of us, this crucial balance gets lost in the rat race.

Folks with strong work-life balance:

Lead purposeful lives. Balanced people give serious thought to how they want to live their lives. They confer with those who are most important to them and develop and then commit to a road map that will help them get there.
Adjust as needed. Like most things in life, well-conceived plans can easily go sideways if we let them. People who stay on track continually ponder and dialogue about what is working or not, and adjust as needed.

business, coaching, education, leadership, relationshipsNaphtali HoffJuly 15, 2016leader, leadership, balance, lifeComment

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