You don’t have to lower your standards, just lower your walls.


12, 15, 21



Save where you can. Spend when you have to. Splurge every once in a while.


15, 21



Find an activity / sport that they enjoy and support it. Get them outside and in the fresh air.


6-16



Test


1-2



Have them practice making trade offs based on their financial priorities. For example: Pedicure or movie?


9



“Human beings are linked, not ranked.” - Gloria Steinem (f*ck the patriarchy)


15



Plan a trip someplace where we can see the Northern Lights.


15



“ A vocation is where our anger and our joy meet.” -Sarah Bessey


16



Celebration and acknowledgment: Make a big deal over little-big things and teach them the same: getting their braces off, or a cast on a broken bone, a friend gets a new car, etc. Always acknowledge the sad that someone is going through or the difficult situation. Applies to all ages.


12, 15, 19, 21



Plan a neighborhood "Winter Olympics" for snow days. Create indoor and outdoor events.


8



Technology doesn’t remove the expectation of good behavior. Be mindful of your manners (and all of our collective humanity) when posting on social media. And no anonymous trolling. If you’re not prepared to sign your name to what you’re putting out there, that’s a good indication you shouldn’t be doing it.


13, 20



Make “good trouble” as Rep. John Lewis said. Justice is won, not given.


14, 19



Just fill ‘em with love. Every other parenting mistake or deficit can be fixed, but if a child grows up thinking it’s not loved and doesn’t have a place in this world, that is a recipe for permanent and painful damage. Not necessarily “spoil” them, but cut them slack as often as possible. Just love ‘em up.


Infant-21



Teach them how to eat a chicken wing in one bite


12



Hand out tulip bulbs (or some sort of bulbs) at my funeral and ask people to plant a few in their yard. But NOT daffodils. I hate daffodils. And lilies, hate ‘em.) So tulips then.


21



Sign up for typing class. (Keyboarding)


13



“A recipe for being mistaken: 1. Dislike someone who's often right. 2. Never agree with someone you dislike.” ——- Paul Graham


16



Three things you cannot change: The past, the truth, someone else.


18



Always wear an undershirt underneath a dress shirt.


13



Watch TED talk on Rejection Therapy: “What I learned from 100 days of rejection | Jia Jiang”


15, 21



Re-Read "Girls and Sex: Navigating the New Landscape" by Peggy Orenstein.


13



You don’t have to choose to be single forever to enjoy being single for now.


17, 21



Sometimes you’ll be in the wrong side of history. When you discover you’re wrong, move to the right side of history. When I first started training as a nurse it was the early 1990’s. HIV/$@!#% was pretty new. I remember telling my fellow student I would double glove and take any “over the top” precautions I wanted to. That was my fear and ignorance talking. Amazing how cozy self-righteousness makes you feel. I was wrong. Always look at the issue through the lens of humanity.


16, 21



Throw some love at a problem.


12, 15, 21



Home is where they love you.


13, 17, 21



Discuss the definition And ramifications of sexual misconduct (harassment, consent, etc.)


12



Read article about Digital Learning/ transitioning to doing homework on a computer. http://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/it-doesnt-have-to-stay-on-the-screen


10



Be open to the possibility that you might be wrong.


12, 14, 17, 21



Stuff will happen and you’ll think “I can’t get through this. I can’t go on.” In the moment it really feels that way. But ...You will survive. You’ll find a way. Never give up on yourself. I never will.


17