Session 4: Talk about What Matters
SESSION 4 SUMMARY
When it comes to parenting, you don’t anticipate what you don’t anticipate. Without a clear destination . . .
you tend to only focus on right now.
you tend to do whatever makes your kids happy.
you tend to fear what you can’t control.
But if you parent with the end in mind, and you know where you are now, you can always do something that will lead a kid in a better direction.
When you imagine the end, you determine what you want to be true for your kid when they become an adult. And then you can map out a few steps that move your child closer toward that destination. Through the Phase research, we’ve identified and mapped out four critical issues that parents are navigating—health, technology, sex, and faith. (We’ll talk about three of the four this week, and next week will be all about faith!)
We obviously can’t control the choices our kids make or the things that happen to or around them. That’s why these maps aren’t a step-by-step guide to guarantee that your child will turn out a certain way or have a specific outcome. They simply inform critical conversations that need to happen with your kid, over and over again, through every phase to move them in the right direction.