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Family Values

5 resolutions for parenting in 2012

From the pages of KIWI magazine’s December/January issue

Heard this one lately? “Kids today! They’ll never grow up, with those overbearing parents handling everything for them.” Not you, of course. Right? The truth is, in today’s world, it’s easy for any of us to veer into helicopter-parenting territory. Things are different than when our parents raised us—we’re dealing with dangerous chemicals in food and bullying on Facebook. But some things aren’t actually so different: Kids still look to their parents to learn how to make their way in the world. Here’s how to start 2012 with an up-to-date take on old-fashioned family values. This year, resolve to teach your kids how to:

#1 Organize their days

Whether your child has to finish a project for school by Friday or get ready for a Scouts meeting tonight, he needs to learn how to organize his time—and his stuff—without Mom’s constant management (or meddling). But how? Start with a reminder that you’re not going to check in on the project every night or remind him to look for his Scout uniform again. And then, “allow your child to live with the consequences. One time missing an item means he’ll remember it next time,” says organizing expert Jamie Novak of bitesizeliving.com.

#2 Find their way—literally

The GPS generation depends heavily on electronics—but digital maps aren’t always correct; sometimes they even freeze when you need them most. Help your child get his bearings by pointing out which way is east and west and identifying landmarks. Kids can think bigger, too, by using a globe to locate where American Idol contestants live. They’ll be less likely to get lost when a cell phone signal’s bad, and more likely to get a sense of their place in the community and the world.

Read three more parenting resolutions by purchasing the digital edition of KIWI’s December/January issue.