I have written a new book on parenting. People have asked me why I wrote a book on this topic. It’s a good question and there are five reasons.

1. I’m convinced of the importance of parenting. I have long believed that raising children is, for many of us, the most important work we’ll ever do. It’s in the home where we shape the lives of our greatest legacy, our children.
2. The need is great. Most parents confess that raising children is among the most challenging work they ever do. Not only is family life chaotic with so many emotional demands and competing priorities but social and economic changes are making parenting more challenging all the time. Many parents need help knowing what do with children who won’t do their homework, bicker and fight, expect life to be easy, or get angry and throw fits.
3. There is nothing like parenting to reveal our “unfinished” personal development work. I thought I was pretty grown up when I was in my mid twenties. Then we started having children. Becoming a parent revealed my imperfections like nothing else. I learned that the biggest challenge to parenting is not our children’s behavior but our own emotional reactions. Loving parenting cannot be separated from our own personal growth.
4. Research has proven a strong and positive correlation between individual happiness and positive relationships. We are, after all, incredibly social beings. We become happier and more fully functioning people as we learn skills to build loving relationships.
5. My father created a set of relationship principles and skills which we taught back in the early days of my career. I’ve since continued to develop these skills and test them with parents and within the public schools. Our parenting system has received excellent reviews. I want to share these tools with you, my readers, to help you build more loving relationships with the people you care about most.

You can get more information, read how to set and enforce expectations with your children, or order a copy of the book by clicking here.

One last thing. I will be writing more and more about relationship topics in the upcoming months. Again, I believe our personal growth cannot be separated from who and how we are in our relationships. We grow as we learn to do our relationships well. And, when it comes right down to it, what is more important to us, in the long run, than our personal relationships?