Try Again Kid: Resources for Resilient Parenting

Try Again Kid: Resources for Resilient Parenting

A Spiritual Journey to Ordinary-ness

Today was my son's first day of third grade. It's a big year for his development. He's set to become more independent- doing more chores, paying attention to his own needs, being responsible for his commitments and plans. As a parent who is constantly self-evaluating my guidance, I'm hyper critical of my own helicopter-like moments. This is when I get in the way of both his successes and his failures. If he feels successful, I try not to dole out a bucket of praise. And when he fails, I try not to catch his tears.

He's got to learn to fail.

When I've set up my PinBox 3000 Art-Cade, you'd be surprised how many times I've heard kids try it for the first time, launch their first marble, miss the flipper button, watch the ball drain out, and then say, "I'm terrible at this". All within the first 1.5 seconds.

My response is: "If you had though that when you were a baby, you'd still be crawling around on all fours." It's a bit harsh, but hidden in the comeback is a challenge. Suck it up and try again.

Failure is essential to growth. So try again.

Here are two books that I'm recommending to all parents who want to raise independent kids who aren't afraid to fail fast.

Educators and designers who want to have a lens of empathy when guiding kids through differing levels of success and failure.

The Self-Esteem Trap by Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D, is the kind of book that could be the go-to parenting guide for this generation of parents. We GenXers should not blame ourselves for all the wondering and wandering about we did before we had kids. Some of us (white kids) were raised in environments of praise, so naturally praise our kids, and in doing that, we tend to go overboard, creating an inflated ego where kids begin to feel they can do no wrong and are entitled to "anything they can dream". (possibly at the expense of others) Well, NEWS FLASH- It Ain't Like That.

The right amount of failure is needed to help kids understand....

  1. The world does not revolve around them
  2. They should get back up and show some grit
  3. They can figure out many of thier own problems
  4. Being Ordinary is OK

That last one hit me like a ton of bricks.

Having been raised in the era of "if you can dream it..." we've forgotten as a culture that helping others, being a reliable friend, and showing kindness are admirable and worthy goals in of themselves. Giving your kids permission to fail, to be ordinary, to show kindness, to show emotion- these are key to developing independent humans, who will hopefully stop handing you thier garbage or their dirty laundry, both literally and emotionally.

"Failures and mishaps teach us about ourselves and about our world-how others see us and what we can expect."

-from The Self-Esteem Trap

Designed for Success (and Failure)

Richard Dattner's adventure playground in Central Park NYC

The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids by Alexandra Lange employs each chapter to look at elements of the not-so-designed-for-kids modernity.

Chapter one- "Blocks"- travels from unit blocks to Legos to cardboard boxes to Minecraft, Lange brings her analysis to what makes good design for developmental growth. Failure comes into focus here, just as much as success. The child's tactile engagement of the world via design influences the growth of children in ways that are hard to comprehend. This book threads a historical dialogue that brings us to our present design tastes.

It gave me a lot of ideas about making with my kids.

In the chapter titled "Playground", I was inspired to read about the movement for "Adventure Playgrounds" where kids can experiment with a variety of large-scale materials and real tools to build and design a world of their own without protecting them from elements of bodily risk. Just as the abandoned city lot used to serve as playground, we parents can learn to step away from the kids and let risk-taking come to their own conclusions. If you give your kid a pile of cardboard, do you think you'd be able to not jump in and instruct them?

Its More than Just a Scratch

Not getting in the way of your child's failures doesn't mean that you shouldn't protect them from harm, of course not. But what both books, seem to speak of is an empathetic view of failure that resonates with the growth of the child. This is in contrast to inoculating the child against the pains and groans of daily life.  

We have a lot to learn from this. Let's not be too hard on ourselves either.

Happy parenting!

Supportive Ways to Speak to your Child

"Tell me what is wrong."

"You can use a normal voice (instead of a sad one) so I can understand you better."

"Do you think you could try again, or do you need a break?"

"I think you are very close to solving this problem."

"It hurts to fall, but I think you'd rather try again than quit, right?"

 

The PinBox 3000 is an open-platform where kids can design their own rules.

We are building a movement of makers, creative thinkers, and game designers and it all starts with bending cardboard.

Are you ready to Tilt the Future?

Follow Us On Social Media For Lots of Thrilling PinBox 3000 Content!

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46 comments

My name’s Eric and I just came across your website – pinbox3000.com – in the search results.

Here’s what that means to me…

Your SEO’s working.

You’re getting eyeballs – mine at least.

Your content’s pretty good, wouldn’t change a thing.

BUT…

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CUSTOMERS do.

And studies show that 7 out of 10 visitors to a site like pinbox3000.com will drop by, take a gander, and then head for the hills without doing anything else.

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Eric Jones

Hello, my name’s Eric and I just ran across your website at pinbox3000.com…

I found it after a quick search, so your SEO’s working out…

Content looks pretty good…

One thing’s missing though…

A QUICK, EASY way to connect with you NOW.

Because studies show that a web lead like me will only hang out a few seconds – 7 out of 10 disappear almost instantly, Surf Surf Surf… then gone forever.

I have the solution:

Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. You’ll know immediately they’re interested and you can call them directly to TALK with them – literally while they’re still on the web looking at your site.

CLICK HERE http://boostleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works and even give it a try… it could be huge for your business.

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The new text messaging feature lets you follow up regularly with new offers, content links, even just follow up notes to build a relationship.

Everything I’ve just described is extremely simple to implement, cost-effective, and profitable.

CLICK HERE http://boostleadgeneration.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business, potentially converting up to 100X more eyeballs into leads today!

Eric
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You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE http://boostleadgeneration.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.

If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://boostleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=pinbox3000.com

Eric Jones

Hi, my name is Eric and I’m betting you’d like your website pinbox3000.com to generate more leads.

Here’s how:
Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It signals you as soon as they say they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re still there at pinbox3000.com.

Talk With Web Visitor – CLICK HERE https://boostleadgeneration.com for a live demo now.

And now that you’ve got their phone number, our new SMS Text With Lead feature enables you to start a text (SMS) conversation – answer questions, provide more info, and close a deal that way.

If they don’t take you up on your offer then, just follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.

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The difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus a half-hour means you could be converting up to 100X more leads today!

Try Talk With Web Visitor and get more leads now.

Eric
PS: The studies show 7 out of 10 visitors don’t hang around – you can’t afford to lose them!
Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE https://boostleadgeneration.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.

If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://boostleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=pinbox3000.com

Eric Jones

Hey, my name’s Eric and for just a second, imagine this…

- Someone does a search and winds up at pinbox3000.com.

- They hang out for a minute to check it out. “I’m interested… but… maybe…”

- And then they hit the back button and check out the other search results instead.

- Bottom line – you got an eyeball, but nothing else to show for it.

- There they go.

This isn’t really your fault – it happens a LOT – studies show 7 out of 10 visitors to any site disappear without leaving a trace.

But you CAN fix that.

Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know right then and there – enabling you to call that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.

CLICK HERE http://boostleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Talk With Web Visitor now to see exactly how it works.

Time is money when it comes to connecting with leads – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later can be huge – like 100 times better!

Plus, now that you have their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… so even if you don’t close a deal then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.

Strong stuff.

CLICK HERE http://boostleadgeneration.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.

You could be converting up to 100X more leads today!

Eric
PS: Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE http://boostleadgeneration.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.

If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://boostleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=pinbox3000.com

Eric Jones

My name’s Eric and I just found your site pinbox3000.com.

It’s got a lot going for it, but here’s an idea to make it even MORE effective.

Talk With Web Visitor – CLICK HERE http://boostleadgeneration.com for a live demo now.

Talk With Web Visitor is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It signals you the moment they let you know they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally looking over your site.

And once you’ve captured their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… and if they don’t take you up on your offer then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship.

CLICK HERE http://boostleadgeneration.com to discover what Talk With Web Visitor can do for your business.

The difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus a half-hour means you could be converting up to 100X more leads today!

Eric
PS: Studies show that 70% of a site’s visitors disappear and are gone forever after just a moment. Don’t keep losing them.
Talk With Web Visitor offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling.
You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting.
CLICK HERE http://boostleadgeneration.com to try Talk With Web Visitor now.

If you’d like to unsubscribe click here http://boostleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=pinbox3000.com

Eric Jones

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