Bringing Out the Best in People

The following article may be useful for parents with young kids or parents-to-be.

Extracted from the book "Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Enjoy Helping Others Excel" by Alan Loy McGinnis

The need for direction
The hands-off approach does not work at home any more than in the classroom or in the office. Most studies show that parents who run a tight ship and who are fairly strict produce the more secure children. The kids may complain about the rules and they may rebel, but they will grow up happier, more ambitious, and better adjusted. If you care about the members of your family, then you care about how successful they are and you devote time and energy to helping them learn to do things well. When you are overly benevolent with your children and hand out privileges and money too freely, they may give you a hug and say, " You're super." But that hug was purchased and you're not really super. You'll feel a lot better about the hug you get when your kid is 25 and just got a promotion and comes to you and says, "Thanks for teaching me how to work."