• Home
  • About Us
    • Media
    • Contact
  • Coaching
  • Speaking
  • Our Podcast
  • Our Blog
    • Josh’s Blog
    • Christi’s Blog
    • Our Videos
  • Resources
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Dr. Josh and Christi

4 Unhealthy Messages We Send to Our Kids—and the One They Need to Hear

October 24, 2016 By Joshua Straub Leave a Comment

My first bicycle was my gateway to freedom. I explored places all six-year-olds should be allowed to go. I traveled as far as my imagination—and backyard—would take me.

There was beauty in the freedom I had on my bicycle—until the day I realized how limited I was in the places I could go. If I could just go beyond my backyard, I thought, I could actually explore new places. Real places.

I’ll never forget the day I tried it and nearly died. Though rarely traveled, cars occasionally did drive in the alley behind our house. With our garage situated at the bottom of the yard, it was nearly impossible to see an oncoming car before my tire hit the roadway. At six years old, I didn’t think about that. I just went for it.

The next thing I remember is staring directly into the grill of a car as we both came to a screeching halt.

The grill of that car serves as a metaphor for the life stressors and dangers our kids will all face. Depending on our parenting tendency, there are four unhealthy messages we send our kids in moments like these.

The first two tendencies are parents who overprotect their kids.

  1. The Helicopter Parent sits in the backyard with the child to ensure he never comes face-to-face with the grill of a car at all. The message the child receives is, “Since you’re the center of the universe, I’ll make sure you don’t face challenges or get hurt. When you do fall off of your bike though, I don’t believe you’ll be able to handle it on your own, so I’ll be right there to rescue you.”
  2. The Religious Parent overprotects by shaming the child for not obeying the rules. Instead of being treated as the center of the universe, the child is treated as the problem. Rather than using the encounter with the grill of a car as a lesson, this parent adds insult to injury by shaming him about the incident and punishing him by taking the bike away for a month. The message the child receives, “You can’t make it on your own. Left to yourself, you’ll mess it up. You need to learn to follow the rules.”

The other two parenting tendencies are parents who allow their kids to explore further than age-appropriate, not protecting them, as they should.

  1. The Boss Parent allows his child to ride bikes, perhaps even bigger than he can handle for his age. But when he meets the grill of the car he hears, “What were you thinking? You know the rules. Follow them. If you don’t listen, one of these days you’re going to get hit, and it’ll be your fault. You need to do better next time.”
  2. The BFF Parent allows the child to bike wherever he wants through town because the backyard might limit his creativity or who he is to become. When he meets the grill of the car in the alley, this parent is writing down every detail the child can remember about the car to hunt down the person who dared drive on that alley while her son was riding his bike. The message the child receives is, “You can do it on your own. You’re amazing. When trouble comes, it’s the world’s fault, not yours. We’ll rescue you.”

It is our responsibility as parents to help children build self-confidence, determination, and resiliency so they can tackle and overcome failures, not believe they are one.
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
The only way for kids to develop these skills is to face hardship, know we will be there to cheer them on (support), but not rescue them from or punish them because of life’s natural consequences (challenge).

Loving our children means always acting for their best interest, which may or may not be the same as their happiness and comfort in the moment.
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook

The very message they need to receive is, “You can explore safely within the boundaries, but when you stray and meet the grill of life, I’m here to help you learn from it. I love you unconditionally for who you are, but I love you enough to not leave you that way.”

For more on these parenting tendencies, check out Josh’s latest book, Safe House: How Emotional Safety is the Key to Raising Kids Who Live, Love, and Lead Well.

Related Posts

  • #51: How Emotional Safety is the Key to Raising Kids Who Live, Love, and Lead Well#51: How Emotional Safety is the Key to Raising Kids Who Live, Love, and Lead Well
  • The Problem with Being Your Child’s Best FriendThe Problem with Being Your Child’s Best Friend
  • 3 Differences Between “Good Parenting” and “Helicopter Parenting”3 Differences Between “Good Parenting” and “Helicopter Parenting”
  • 3 Ways To Be An Emotionally Safe Parent3 Ways To Be An Emotionally Safe Parent
  • Creating a Safe Family Where Your Children Can Thrive –Focus on the FamilyCreating a Safe Family Where Your Children Can Thrive –Focus on the Family

Filed Under: Family, Parenting Tagged With: BFF Parent, boss parent, Children, Emotional Safety, Family, helicopter parent, Joshua Straub, Kids, lead, live, Love, Parenting, religious parent, Safe House

« 5 Ways to Create a Culture of Forgiveness in Your Marriage
Permission to Relax and Celebrate Our Child’s Passion — Dr. Josh + Christi LIVE Video »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


JOIN OTHER FUN & AMAZING FAMILIES ON OUR EMAIL LIST!

Get the weekly podcast delivered straight to your inbox!

[You are consenting to be on the Dr. Josh + Christi email list. We do not spam. We pinky swear.]

Find topics you care about

I’m looking for:

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2019 - Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy - Joshua Straub