1. Brush Your Teeth. – It makes it much easier to spot any potential problem areas when your child’s teeth are clean. Have them brush thoroughly just prior to their visit.
2. Floss – Similarly, apart from good overall practice, flossing will keep the spaces between their teeth clear, making it easier to spot cavities, as well as prevent them.
3. Rinse – In addition to killing harmful germs in their mouths, the dentist will be very grateful to your child for this courtesy. It may burn a little, but there are non-alcohol rinse alternatives.
4. Reward – It helps to associate a not-so-great experience with a more positive end result. Fewer cavities may not excite your child, but a visit to the movies, a park, or arcade afterward might do the trick.
5. Stress Reduction – Coordinate your child’s office visit with an activity that will help her relax and get her mind off the anxiety of a dental visit. If you can change your child’s thinking about the dentist, it will make the experience better overall.
6. Explain What to Expect – If this is your child’s first visit, talk to them about what they will be doing, and why. The dentist will be looking in your mouth to make sure your teeth are okay, etc. The more they know, the less stress they will have.
7. Read a Book – Choose a book about a child’s first dentist visit to help them understand and mentally prepare for it. Make it a normal part of life and not something to dread.
8. Start Early – The earlier the better for the child’s first visit. You can start generally between 6 and 12 months. You especially want to make the first visit a non-emergency one. This will help acclimate your child to what to expect, and to develop trust in her dentist.
9. Play Dentist – You can take turns with your child, alternately playing the roles of dentist and patient. Let him get accustomed to checking teeth, and having his checked, in a fun and reassuring setting before heading out for the real thing.
10. Schedule Early in the Day – Avoid the potential for a cranky or hungry toddler by getting an early appointment whenever possible. It will help make your visit a more pleasant one for everyone.

No matter what age your kids are, going to the dentist is an important part of life. Good dental hygiene is vital to good health. Start early and make visiting the dentist fun.

1. Stranger danger – Children should be counseled to never talk to strangers. Especially when their story is going to be shared with countless other children over the centuries. It’s important that they set a good example, and stay out of harm’s way.
2. Curfew – The story doesn’t make it clear, but we’re pretty sure from the evidence available to us that Red Riding Hood must have violated some curfew during her extended journey into the woods. At one point, she even stayed the night without notifying her parents.
3. Child endangerment – Incidentally, we think that Red Riding Hood’s mom ought to be turned in to Child Protective Services for sending her out alone into the woods in a red velvet outfit and with a bottle of wine. We find this sort of child endangerment most distressing.
4. Minor in Posession – Grounding Little Red Riding Hood would keep her out of trouble and prevent her from being busted for possession of alcohol as a minor. She probably should be put in a foster home to ensure this sort of thing is never repeated.
5. Lack of street smarts – In light of the fact that she nearly got her grandma killed with her big mouth and gullible nature, we think it’s fair to say that Little Red Riding Hood needs to be kept off the streets. At least until she learns some better street smarts.
6. Failing eyesight – Anyone who can’t tell their grandmother from a wolf doesn’t need to be walking the streets by themselves. Red Riding Hood should be kept indoors under 24-hour observation, in our opinion.
7. Accessory to murder – Being an accessory to murder (the wolf), it may be a good idea for her to lay low for a while anyway. She’s probably wanted for questioning. And for Pete’s sake, put that red riding hood away. It’s a dead giveaway! (pun intended)
8. House arrest – From a legal perspective, maybe her being grounded should be viewed more as a house arrest, pending the outcome of the investigation of the wolf’s homicide case. Until the smoke clears, we think this may be the best course of action for all concerned.
9. Safety – Little Red Riding Hood should be grounded for her own safety. Every time she leaves the house, it seems like someone else is getting eaten alive or killed. The girl is just trouble with a capital ‘T’.
10. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – After witnessing the disembowelment of the wolf by the lumberjack, we feel safe in assuming that Red Riding Hood is in dire need of counseling, and perhaps some PTSD therapy. At any rate, ground the girl long enough to get her some psychiatric evaluation. She’s been through quite an ordeal.

Little Red Riding Hood may have come out on top at the end of the story, but she certainly had some mishaps along the way. It would probably be in everyone’s best interest if she stayed home from now on, either by her own accord or because she’s grounded for all her previous transgressions.

1. Win at all costs: Letting your child win once in a while isn’t going to hurt anything, but make sure they don’t know you are letting them win.  That will send the wrong message.  You don’t want your child to think that it’s okay to change the rules just so you can win or that winning is more important than following the rules.
2. Lose gracefully: A very important lesson to teach your children is how to lose gracefully.  If you let your child know that it’s okay to lose as long as you tried your hardest they will learn how to lose gracefully.  They will lose at things from time to time, but it’s more important to handle defeat well.  Make sure that everyone congratulates the winner at the end of the game.
3. Start on level ground: If you feel like you need to ‘let’ your child win at a game that means that maybe you weren’t on equal footing from the start.  You know how they give golfers a handicap?  You might want to spot your child a few points or set up the game so that everyone has an equal chance to win while still playing by the rules.
4. Winning fairly feels great: Children are very smart and will spot that you are letting them win.  If this happens then you will be robbing your child of the thrill of victory.  When your child wins fair and square it will mean a lot more to them then having you let them win.
5. Learning to compete: When you allow your child to play the game they will learn over time what to do and then they will start playing with strategy.  Strategy can be taught at a very early age and this knowledge will flow over into other aspects of their life. 
6. Entitlement issues: One of the biggest things I’ve seen with this generation is this ‘sense of entitlement’ that kids seem to have these days.  I wonder if it doesn’t stem back to taking away winning and losing at school, birthday parties, rec sports etc.  If you let them win then they will feel like everyone should do that and that they are entitled to win no matter how much effort they put forth.
7. Improving skills: Losing will motivate your child to try harder next time and encourage them to practice and improve their skills so that next time they have a better chance at winning the game on their own.
8. Focus on the joy of the game: If you focus on having fun during the game then it won’t matter who wins and who loses, just how much fun you had playing the game.  If you can teach your child to enjoy the ride then it will allow them not to take defeat too hard.
9. Reality check: Kids will lose occasionally and that is just a fact of life.  Letting your child win does not prepare them for the real world.  I love to win and I’m pretty disappointed when I lose, but from an early age I had a taste of both.  Even at birthday parties, someone won the game of pin the tail on the donkey and we didn’t all go home with a prize.  These are the facts of life and the sooner kids learn that life is not fair the better off they will be.
10. Play a variety of games:  Instead of rigging the game so that your child wins, why don’t you play different kinds of games?  There are games that stress playing as a team and everyone plays against the board instead of each other.  Or games of chance where rolling the dice or picking a card is just random chance and everyone has the same chance of winning.

Good luck and just remember that whether you win or lose it’s just important to spend time with your child having fun. Playing is a great learning experience for a child, even if it is just a simple board game or team sport. So get out there and play!

1. It’s a matter of trust – Our children trust us to keep our word. Little children especially look up to parents with a kind of awe whether or not we are aware of it. Consequently when a promise is made, it is assumed by the child that the promise will be kept.
2. Leading by example – Some parents like to try the “Do as I say and not as I do” model with their kids. Unfortunately this does not work. It can be confusing for younger kids and downright distasteful for older kids, as it puts parents in a hypocritical light. If we want our kids to learn to keep their promises, then we must learn to keep ours.
3. Teaches integrity – When kids see parents following through on their promises, they are seeing a form of integrity in action. They know that whatever Mom or Dad promises is something they can count on.
4. Affects discipline – Sometimes parents will promise a particular punishment or consequence for misbehavior. If those promises are never kept, the child learns that he or she can get away with disobedience because there will be no meaningful consequences. As the child grows older, this practice can become more and more of a problem.
5. Kept promises teach dependability – Whether it’s going to the zoo or getting grounded for acting up, when parents consistently keep their promises, kids learn dependability. It will come as no surprise when electronic privileges get cut off for misconduct. It was promised that they would. By the same token the trip to the amusement park is a sure thing because Mom and Dad promised.
6. It’s a matter of reputation – Imagine an airline company that always promises to get you to a certain destination and they never deliver. Maybe it’s only one city short of where you expected to go or maybe it’s the next state over. The point is, you would never trust that airline to get you where you want to go and they would have a bad reputation. Parents need to have good reputations with their children if they expect the kids to follow their example in becoming good adults.
7. Teaches about honesty – The last thing you want to hear your child say to you is that you are a liar. Yet, when a child is faced with a broken promise, particularly when the promise was very important, if it isn’t said, you can be pretty sure that is the thought that goes through the kid’s mind. Part of keeping a promise has to do with honesty, and this is a trait that we want to develop in our children.
8. Kids will learn to value the promise – When a child grows up with parents who only make promises they can keep, that child learns the value of a promise. That child will grow up to be a person who also only makes promises that he or she can keep.
9. Keeping a promise shows respect – As kids get older respect becomes a big issue with them. They want to receive respect and keeping promises made to them shows them that they are respected.
10. Parents are the first teachers – As first teachers, everything parents do matters in the lives of the children. This is an important thing to remember. Keeping promises teaches many things, and parents need to be the best teachers their kids could ever have.

1. Games – There are several fun games that teach kids how to write programs without them even realizing it. Magic Pen, Auditorium and Fantastic Contraption are problem solving games that kids enjoy playing while simultaneously learning. Other games like Light Bot and Mindrover teach basic programming skills.
2. Logo – A computer language designed for kids, Logo is easy enough for even 7 year olds to learn. Children give commands to make the turtle on the screen do whatever they want. There are free downloads and tutorials to help them learn basic programming.
3. Legos – Kids love playing with Legos from an early age and as they get older Lego Mindstorms teaches them how to build robots. This robotics kit has them using their imaginations to build some interesting stuff. The simple graphical language helps young kids to use meaningful programs and see the results in their own creations.
4. Phrogram – Formerly known as Kids Programming Language or KPL, Phrogram comes with a lot of sample programs that can do things that range from simple to complex. Children can use this to make fun games, design digital art, or build math and learning skills.
5. Scratch – A fun way for kids to learn about computer programming is to have them create their own online games. Scratch is a language for kids developed at MIT that teaches them to write computer programs, see how they operate, and have fun doing it.
6. Alice – This animated program was developed to encourage more girls to get excited about computer programming, but boys love Alice too. By using drop-down menus, there’s no need to learn code while learning the basic concepts of writing programs.
7. Visual Basic Express – Older kids who want to advance their programming skills can use Visual Basic Express to learn how to use code. It helps to already know programming languages, but isn’t completely necessary. Children aged 10 and up will learn to key in data and then do something with the data they entered.
8. Python – Another cool tool for kids to learn how to program computer games is Python. This free online book uses a powerful high-level programming language for youngsters who have already mastered the basics.
9. Codeacademy – An interactive and fun way for kids to learn computer code is to use Codeacademy.com. This online tool helps kids to create websites, games and apps while competing and learning with their friends.
10. Java – To really master their computer programming skills advanced students should use Stanford’s free online Java class. Kids will need to learn Java if they ever plan to take the AP Computer Science Exam. They may need a little help at first, but will soon become so engaged that they will be completing assignments on their own.

Most people know how to use the computer technology that’s already been developed, but few know how it really works. By teaching kids at an early age, they can gain the knowledge and skills they need to write their own programs and have fun doing it. By the time they reach adulthood, they will be ready to advance that know-how to compete in the technology based world we live in. Maybe your child will become the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. Who knows?

1. Tickle them:  Most kids have a ticklish spot and no matter how stoic they are you should be able to get them laughing by tickling them.  The trick is to tickle them and then have someone else take the picture.
2. Surprise them: Often doing something spontaneous and out of character will get them to laugh or smile no matter how stoic your child is.  The more stoic the child the more outlandish you might have to be to surprise them, but it should work.
3. Play happy music: Music has a big effect on people’s mood.  If you play sad music the happiest person will soon feel down in the mouth, but if you play happy music you are more likely to have a happier child that smiles more easily. Definitely avoid loud angry music.  There’s something about happy uplifting music that will improve everyone’s mood not just the stoic child.
4. Make a funny face: Some people do this better than others, but the more elastic your face the better.  Pull it, stretch it, stick out your tongue and roll your eyes, but make a funny face and you should get at least a smile out of your child.  Feel free to add sounds to your funny face.  Pretend to be a pig and grunt or a bird and chirp.
5. Sing a funny song:  While there are many types of music that you can sing, funny music is by far the best to sing if you are going for a smile or laugh from a child.  Check the Internet for kids’ songs because there are tons, complete with words that you and your child can sing.  You can even sing songs about English or Math if you want to bring in learning to the mix, but if you are just going for a smile keep it silly. 
6. Dance with them: You can add dance moves to the funny songs that you sing and have even more fun with your child or you can put on some dance music and jump around and dance with your stoic child.  The funnier the dance moves the better.  A stoic child may feel fearful of looking silly, but you need to set the stage and make sure that you act silly together and don’t say anything negative.
7. Bring out a cuddly animal:  Who can be upset or serious when they have a fuzzy cuddly animal to play with.  They are so adorable and lovable that most children will love to play with them and that will decrease their stress and increase your chances for a smile.
8. Make farting noises:  I know, it’s not the most mature of things to do, but sometimes you gotta do, what you gotta do.  Kids love potty humor and there’s something about the farting sound that makes even the most serious adult crack a smile so hopefully it will work on your stoic child.
9. Do a prat fall:  You’ve seen comedians do them.  The Three Stooges perfected the art of the prat fall, but you can do a good rendition of one.  Pretend to be walking over to them and accidentally (on purpose) trip and fall down in a funny way.  I don’t know why, but people usually laugh when others fall down.  You’d think that would be the last thing you would do, but if it’s funny enough paired with a big noise or a funny sound then you should get a laugh.
10. Do a spit take: This is another one that I’m sure you’ve seen on television.  Someone takes a big drink of water, lemonade or other liquid and someone else says or does something really funny.  The person with the mouth full of liquid starts laughing and spits whatever they were drinking all over the place.  Okay, so this is not something you want to do in your formal living room with cherry Kool-Aid in your mouth, but you could do it outside with water in your mouth and be okay.  It’s just funny and unexpected to see your mom or dad spitting water all over the place.

No matter how serious your child is, one of these ten things should make them at least crack a smile. Act silly, have fun, and be happy. Hopefully you will get your stoic child to crack. Good luck and go grab your camera!

1. Nanformers – Develop your avatar’s housekeeping and care-giving skills, and earn points toward establishing her alter-ego. When she’s just about at her wit’s end caring for a houseful of screaming kids, she holds her spatula aloft, and cries, “Nanformer”!
2. BatNanny – Nanny to the high society crowd, she is the grime-fighting caped caregiver of Gotham City. Parents whose children have been possessed by her evil nemesis, The Piddler, send up the “Nanny” signal, and BatNan swings into action, fresh diapers at the ready in her handy utility bag.
3. Nanny Ninjas – By day they are the stalwart guardians of society’s children; by night, they are the stealthful sentries of society itself. Build your ninja skills and arsenal by successfully maneuvering the family vehicle through numerous road hazards, and get the kids to school and back home safely.
4. Danny’s Nannies – Think Charlie’s Angels, but with babysitting babes who kick butt and fight crime in the streets, when they aren’t wiping butts and fighting grime in the home.
5. Day Care Divas – You’re the manager of a nightclub whose main act is an all-girl band of part-time nannies. Help them design their homes and build a wardrobe, a la Sim City, while balancing their moonlighting gigs with their main gig and first love – nannying.
6. Nantasm – Super nannies stave off evil cradle-robbers with a deadly arsenal of safety pins, cookie cutters and assorted  razor-sharp kitchen utensils. Don’t mess with the Nantasm.
7. Hard Hitters & Babysitters: NFL 2012 (Nanny Football League) – OK, so maybe this is just a male fantasy, but think of the added prestige it will bring nannies with young boys in their care when they get to draft players like Nan Marino.
8. CSI: My Nanny – Help your favorite child care crime-stopper as she sifts through mountains of evidence, and laundry, to keep your city safe, and your kids looking spiffy.
9. Nanny Helsing – When the sun has set, and the shadows grow long, vampire huntress Nan Helsing trades in her children’s silver spoons for silver bullets and crucifix. It’s time to put the kids to bed, and hunt down the undead.
10. Resident Evil: Nanny vs. The Demon Seed – In this thriller game, you are hired to nanny the Spawn of Satan; a child so vile and incorrigible that he defies all things nanny. It’s your job to defeat the forces of infantile madness sent straight from the pits of Hell.

1. Attachment Parenting – Like many modern human mothers, apes practice what is essentially attachment parenting in the first few years of a baby’s life. These little ones are constantly in the company of their mothers, learning the complex social structure of their community.
2. Follow Your Instincts – Unlike human parents who struggle with feelings of inadequacy and terror in the face of new parenthood, apes seem to trust their parenting instincts. While educating yourself about parenting is always a good idea, try not to be consumed with following every parenting book to the letter. Let your instincts as a parent take the lead, especially if you feel that a method you’ve read about isn’t right for your family.
3. Leading By Example – Young apes learn valuable life skills by observing their parents. Similarly, human youngsters begin to emulate their parents and other adults around them quite early; teaching by showing and providing a strong example is the best way to ensure good habits and building essential skills.
4. Ape Adolescents Are Cut-Ups, Too – As any parent of a teenager knows, it’s certainly not uncommon to witness sometimes hilarious antics from the adolescents in a family. Adolescent apes, especially males, can be extremely playful. Mother apes tend to disregard most of these displays, unless the safety of dependent young is threatened; adopting a similar policy might be best for your own sanity.
5. Parents Kick Capable Young Out of the Nest – The modern phenomenon of returning to a parental household after college or remaining in the home long after reaching adulthood is one that many experts claim to be the result of over-indulgent parenting. When apes become self-sufficient, they’re expected to fend for themselves; this separation, while probably painful, is natural and necessary for the good of the group and the individual apes.
6. Infants Can’t Be Spoiled – The generations-old debate about spoiling an infant by responding to their cries too soon could be considered laid to rest by observing mother apes; they fulfill a baby ape’s needs immediately, with no concern about “spoiling” them.
7. It Takes a Village – Many ape moms are single parents, but the other females in a group typically offer assistance along the way. Overwhelmed single mothers who are hesitant to seek help out of a sense of pride can take a page from the ape book; it’s okay to need help.
8. Being Distrustful of Daycare is Okay – While apes have the luxury of being able to care for their young themselves without concerns about returning to the office, they do still have a construct similar to babysitting. However, they’re very picky about choosing a sitter and will take over immediately if they sense that their little one is in distress. For moms who feel bad about being uncomfortable with daycare, this can serve as a lesson that this hesitance is natural.
9. Non-Verbal Cues are Important – Though apes do have a method of audible communication, most of their interaction is the result of non-verbal cues. Learning to parent by paying attention to what your child doesn’t say is a great skill we can adapt from the apes.
10. Siblings Play an Active Role – Older ape siblings help mothers to protect and care for their younger, dependent brothers and sisters. Fostering a sense of familial responsibility in older children not only affords human moms a bit of assistance, but can also make for stronger sibling bonds later in life.

Perhaps we need to pay a little more attention to the family relations in the animal kingdom; they seem to have managed a consistency that humans often lack.

1. Goosey, Goosey Gander

Goosey, goosey, gander,
Whither dost thou wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my lady’s chamber.
There I met an old man
Who wouldn’t say his prayers;
I took him by the left leg,
And threw him down the stairs.
What the …? Abusing the elderly for not praying!? We don’t even want to contemplate what the
moral of this one is supposed to be for little kids.

2. It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

It’s raining, it’s pouring
The old man is snoring
He went to bed and he bumped his head
And couldn’t get up in the morning.

We detect a pattern here. Nursery rhymes are clearly not healthy for old folks.

3. Rock-a-Bye, Baby

Rock-a-bye, baby,
In the tree top.
When the wind blows,
The cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks,
The cradle will fall,
And down will come baby,
Cradle and all.

Then again, it seems that infants don’t fare a whole lot better. Such violent rhymes we have.

4. Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Rub a dub dub,
Three men in a tub,
And who do you think they be?
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick maker.
Turn them out, knaves all three.

It’s probably best not to dwell on this scenario, but honestly, what the heck is going on here?

5. There Was an Old Woman

There was an old woman,
Who lived in a shoe;
She had so many children,
She didn’t know what to do.
She gave them some broth,
Without any bread;
She whipped them all soundly,
And sent them to bed.

Oh, that’s just lovely. As if it isn’t bad enough that this dysfunctional family is living crammed
together inside of footwear for a home. You would think odor control would be enough of an
issue, but now, add to that birth control as well. Topped off with child abuse. Lord help us.

6. Ladybug, Ladybug

Ladybug, Ladybug
Fly away home.
Your house is on fire.
And your children all gone.
All except one,
And that’s little Ann,
For she crept under
The frying pan.

Is this where we got the expression “from the frying pan into the fire”? Either way, it makes
you wonder how these notions ever became children’s nursery rhymes.

7. Georgie Porgie

Georgie Porgie pudding and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry
When the boys came out to play,
Georgie Porgie ran away.

Just what kind of freak is this Georgie Porgie, anyway? Makes girls cry, then buggers off when the boys show up. Sounds like a real perv, if you ask us.

8. Peter, Perter, Pumpkin Eater

Peter Peter pumpkin eater,
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her!
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well!

If we’re reading this one correctly, this Peter dude is one abusive spouse. What are we teaching our youth, for Pete’s sake?

9. Wee Willie Winkie

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
Upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown,
Tapping at the window and crying through the lock,
Are all the children in their beds, it’s past eight o’clock?

So what’s the deal with this kid exactly? Is he some sleep-walking exhibitionist? Because with a name like Wee Willie Winkie, we’re guessing there’s not much reason for showing off. Just saying.

10. Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling

Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John,
Went to bed with his trousers on;
One shoe off, and one shoe on,
Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John!

We don’t want to rush to any conclusions about your son John there, Dad, but have you Googled the word diddle?

1. Go Your Own Way – Though not all of the passengers on the Mayflower were religious Separatists, each of the voyagers on the perilous journey was seeking a new life on their own terms. Breaking away from the pack and making the decisions that best suit you and your family is a lesson we can learn from the Pilgrims and a great way to honor those early sacrifices.
2. Everyone Works – Every member of a colonial family worked as soon as they were able to; even small children contributed to the running of a household. This is a way of life that has largely been lost in recent generations, but is one of the best ways to foster a sense of responsibility in children.
3. Cooperation is Key – The venerable tradition of Thanksgiving is based upon the celebration of gratitude that the Pilgrims felt towards the Native Americans that helped them to survive. Learning to work together and to cooperate with their neighbors despite any cultural differences was the key to their survival, and could easily be applied to modern life.
4. Your History Will Be Distorted – The cultural image of black-clad pilgrims with large buckles on their shoes isn’t particularly accurate, but it’s become part of the collective American consciousness. This is just one of the inaccuracies that we’ve come to adopt as truth; as children grow and memories become hazy, the truth about your daily lives will become a bit distorted to fit their own perceptions of reality.
5. Every Day is a Challenge – Though modern living isn’t the struggle between life and death that the Pilgrims experienced, it is a constant uphill challenge. Following their example of facing each challenge head on is one that parents from all walks of life can benefit from implementing and is a great characteristic to pass down to their children.
6. Discipline is an Act of Love – While it’s certainly not a good idea to strike a child, it is incredibly important to properly discipline your youngsters. Modern culture seems to believe that indulgence and refusal to implement punishment systems show how much we love our children, but it doesn’t prepare them for the real-world consequences of their behavior. Colonial children were taught to adhere to the rules of their households completely; this discipline enabled the Pilgrims and their children to survive the harsh conditions of early America.
7. Despite Your Best Efforts, Your Children May Not Follow Your Example – The first generation of American Pilgrims cooperated with the Native Americans and was grateful for their assistance; however despite this example of community that they set, the later generations flouted that system. Much like the children of those Pilgrims, your children will become their own people. In spite of your efforts, they may not follow a single example you’ve set.
8. Hardships are Unavoidable – Instead of religiously shielding children from even the hint of hardship, the Pilgrims allowed their youngsters to gain a realistic view of the world. In an admirable attempt to extend the youthful years of naivety, modern parents often go to great lengths to prevent them from experiencing any sort of difficulty. Often, this leads to young adults that are completely ill-equipped to handle adversity.
9. Never Give Up – A very large portion of the original Mayflower passengers died within the first year. The remaining Pilgrims could easily have admitted defeat and succumbed to the elements, but they strove on each day with defiance in the face of every obstacle. Applying this never-say-die mentality to your parenting style could be a good way to boost the confidence and capability of your kids.
10. Keep Your Traditions Alive – Before setting sail for the New World, many of the Pilgrims settled briefly in Holland. Fear that their own culture and traditions were being absorbed by Dutch culture they made the decision to strike out on their own. Personal traditions are very important in a family; the Pilgrims can be an inspiration for establishing and protecting the ones that belong to you and your household.

History is full of lessons for us as parents. The Pilgrims are just one example of how we can apply the lessons of the past to our current family situations.