Annie Lussenburg

I’ve lost count of the number of articles I’ve read about the importance of developing resilience.  It’s mentioned all over the web and for good reason, as it’s a critical coping mechanism.  Most of those articles however, are directed at developing resilience within the adult population.  Seldom, do we talk about how parents can and should create resilience in children, particularly when there are many parents out there who are doing the exact opposite of what’s required.
 

As the understanding of the problems created by peak oil are rising exponentially, there are a number of other peaks that have made their collective way in to our consciousness, peak money, peak phosphorus, peak coal to name but a few. All these peaks imply a head on collision with hard limits but not much has been mentioned about another very important peak, the peak of our current parenting practices. What will this peak mean to parents struggling with the usual parenting issues? Will the inevitable slide down the other side of Hubbert’s oil curve, help parents or hinder them?

The economic crisis is affecting the pocket book of many a family and as such, I’m starting to get questions as to how people can best cope. Here then are a few tips on parenting in difficult times.

In the midst of a crisis there are always a ton of voices to listen to, highly qualified voices to give you an in depth analysis of current trends and economic forecasts. For my part, I just see the world through the eyes of the families I work with. Many of these families are scared at the moment, perhaps more scared than they’ve ever been.

A lot of parenting is about common sense. Deep down as parents, we realize that if a child gets showered with gifts, they become unappreciative. If they receive things because they stamp their feet and scream, that behavior will continue because it has been rewarded.

In the last few decades however, common sense seems to be on the decline and its commonality is certainly fading. Let me give you an example.

What might happen when you take a society that is used to ‘Yes’ and tell it ‘No’ ?