Four Goals for Success Ready Kids

Children do not come with instructions. To feed, clothe, and put a child to bed are the basics of parenting. But what comes after the material needs of a child are met? What are worthy goals for parents to work on to assure they have a "success-ready kid?"

Children who master 4 essential skills have significantly increased chances of building a succussful life.

To Befriend
To Look
To Listen
To Practice

To befriend is to be open and relaxed in relationship with others. It is the ability to approach someone with a fundamental orientation of trust. It is to see each person as a promise. It is to meet someone new and say, "There is something good here for me!"

To look is to give attention to something with intention. It involves a quality of commitment. For a time all else is removed from view. It is to say, "This matters." To listen is to receive information in a way that creates new perspectives, resources and opportunities. It requires a non-defensive attitidue. It is to say, "Tell me more." To practice is to increase one's tolerance for failure and for discomfort. Anything worth doing, is worth doing wrong -- at least until the thing is mastered. It is to say, "Let me try it again." What are four goals for parenting success-ready kids?