How to raise children who turn into well-balanced adults

Through mindful parenting, your kids can grow up to be compassionate, kind and honest.

Becoming a father has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. My daughters and I grew up together.

I studied many chapters in the book of life: patience, cooperation, humility and gratitude. Now, I’m onto the next chapter — grandparenthood! It’s everything that my friends said it would be: pure pleasure.

Like many parents, I thought about what values I wanted my children to embody. I wanted them to grow up to be happy, successful adults. I hoped that they would be compassionate, kind, honest and community-minded. I wanted them to find meaning and purpose in their lives.

But how do parents accomplish these goals? Children are influenced by so many factors outside of our control: culture, peers, the times they grow up in, technology and current events. What can we do to help our children turn into adults that we would want to have as friends?

Be loving. Showering your children with love is the easiest part of parenthood. When you gaze upon your child, love bursts out of your heart, like sunshine on a summer day. This one’s easy.

Be the person you want your child to be. This is much harder. When Naomi was 8, she and I were standing at the checkout counter at the supermarket. The cashier gave me too much change. I carefully counted out the extra cash and gave it back to the cashier. Naomi’s eyes were glued on me, watching and learning. The lesson: Honesty is more important than opportunity.

Children will model themselves after you. They are watching everything that you do. They take in everything. And they will mimic you. If you want them to be patient, you have to be patient. If you want them to be organized, you must be organized. Consider carefully how you want to be — your children are watching.

Reinforce the behavior you want to see more of. Sure we want to give our kids “atta girls” when they make their bed, brush their teeth, do their homework and practice any of the good habits we want them to develop. But consider carefully what you want to reward because whatever you reinforce will be highlighted. Creativity, independence, conformity, good grades, hard work, thoughtfulness — there is a long list of possibilities. This requires care and awareness on our part. It’s those little moments that are easy to miss. What’s more important, grades or grit? Sometimes we have to ignore one in order to encourage the other.

I was careful to reinforce critical thinking and intellectual honesty over grades. I wanted our children to be independent thinkers, who weren’t afraid to express their opinions, even if they were different than everyone else’s.

Provide learning experiences. When our kids were little, we delivered meals to shut-ins on Thanksgiving. I wanted them to see that not everyone was as fortunate as they were. When they were in their early teens, Diane and I made a huge decision to move from the suburbs to the city. We wanted our daughters to have a broader, more diverse adolescent experience. We were concerned that in their comfortable, suburban life they were becoming overly materialistic.

Our friends thought we were crazy. Why would we move from a community with a great school system to one that was mediocre at best? It was a risky decision. But years later, both daughters told us that they were transformed by their experience growing up in Seattle. It changed the course of their lives. My youngest daughter became fluent in Spanish, volunteered after college in Honduras and is now a nurse practitioner in one of the poorest neighborhoods in our nation. My oldest daughter developed greater self-confidence.

Life experiences teach children valuable lessons that help them grapple with the complexities and challenges of adult life. Consider carefully what experiences you can offer your children that will help them become the adults you would want them to be.

Paul Schoenfeld is director of The Everett Clinic’s Center for Behavioral Health. His Family Talk Blog can be found at www.everettclinic.com/family-talk-blog.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.