We’re so busy in our lives that we don’t realize that we are spending more time criticizing our kids than trying to guide them to do the right thing. Sometimes we’re commanding, sometimes we’re demanding. I’m just going to be honest; that was me. I used to be like that a lot of years ago with my two boys, who are now adults. I used to command, I used to demand, and I used to ground them. I spent more time looking at all the things they were doing wrong, whether it was with school, their room, or their homework. Then I actually spent time praising them, telling them how amazing they are, how great they are in their sports, or how great they did in their sports.
I ask you, how much time are you spending praising your children? Do you even know what your kids strengths are? How are you elevating what your kids strengths are? I have twins now, and they’re almost ten. One of my twins said she was going to be on The Voice. She was going to be on The Voice, and I said, “Well, what would that mean for you to be on The Voice?” She says, “I am a great singer. I am going to be in front of everybody, going to get chairs turned around for me!” Then I said, “I believe you’ll do it!” She says, “You believe I’ll do it?” I said, “I do!”
I said, “What if we got you voice lessons?” She goes like, “For real voice lessons?” I said, “For real voice lessons.” I happened to find somebody; his name is Dr. He’s in the UK. He’s actually Sam Smith’s voice coach; Sam Smith is the one who has grammys, and he has another 12 grammys underneath him as well. I hired him to work with my daughter for four months; what a difference! I had somebody ask me, “Is that kind of expensive?” I said, “Compared to what?” Looking at a strength, a dream that my child has, to be able to help her achieve that? Not expensive at all. It’s the best investment I can make.
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