I heard a new term: “Lighthouse Parent.” I think that being a Lighthouse Parent is a better way to Parent
The term is intended to offer a better alternative to parenting than: helicopter parents, absent parents, or dictatorial parents.
While helicopter parents are always hovering and anxious, attempting to prepare and control everything, absent parents are standoffish and not engaged. And, Dictatorial parents are demanding their kids adhere to an set of rigid standards.
A better approach! A lighthouse parent.
A lighthouse parent acts as a role model, a beacon against which a child can measure his or herself. A lighthouse parent also watches the rocks to ensure that their children do not crash against them, but also looks out towards the distance and trusts their children to ride the waves.
As a parent you don’t just want to raise a successful fifteen-year-old. You also want to raise a successful thirty-year-old, and forty-year-old, and fifty-year-old. If that’s the case, we need to figure out how to provide them with skills they need to be successful throughout their lives
One would hope that every parent would wish their children to thrive throughout their lives. While, we all wish we could guarantee a future for them where they can thrive, we can’t. So we must prepare our children to thrive on their own.
The Three Key Skills of a Lighthouse Parent
- Is as honest as possible.
- Teach by modeling the behavior they want their kids to learn.
- Discover what your kids strengths are and focus on them.