So, this is a touchy subject because some readers believe it is our job as parents to "teach" our children, others simply to guide them and let them learn and explore and create for themselves... Either way, my posts this week are dedicated to the subjects that we often forget to talk about.
Here are my top 5, that I always have to make a constant effort to remember:
1. How Energy Works.
I actively manage my energy, do things like meditation and Qi Gong to maintain it at a high level, choose the thoughts I think and make sure I don't get stuck in a rut for too long. This week's post from Rhonda Ryder does a great job at covering some these areas and showing us how we too can make sure we teach or set an example in this area of life for our kids.
2. Success in Life.
Again a touchy topic, what does success mean - should we be striving for it or should we just be happy and present in every moment and the rest will take care of itself? That is for you to decide, but either way, I have a powerful Video post this week of interviews with Will Smith that will hopefully make you think - think about what being successful in life means to you and how we can help our kids understand and create their own definition.
3. How to Make Money.
Most children I talk to believe that there is only 1 way to make money. Grow up, get a job and you make money. But in this post a friend shares his story about teaching the true value of money.
4. The Value of Other Cultures.
The world is become so homogenized with our Western culture spreading across the planet, that now more than ever I think it is important to teach children the value of culture and tradition. Teaching respect for culture and tradition is different than teaching tolerance. Tolerance is not something you have to teach kids - they are born knowing it and have a deeply set understanding of fairness.
But culture and tradition is another thing - they learn about it in school, but rarely get a chance to experience it. I am in Thailand this weekend with my girls so look for my post next week on our trip and an article on teaching children the value of culture.
5. How to Interact in an Imaginary world.
My girls are 7 and 9 now and they spend at least 2 hours a week online in virutal worlds like Webkinz and Fishville. So I have to be diligent about the websites they are visiting and make sure they understand that there are rules to the online world just like there are offline. I found a really great article that talks about this subject.
What things do you think we forget to teach our children? I would like to know so I can remember to talk to my daughters about them!
Thanks 
Melissa
Tim, I totally agree with you - I think we allow our kids to create within OUR parameters. For example, they can color between black lines we put on a piece of paper for them, or they can build with a set of blocks we gave them... but what would happen if we asked them to make a picture of something, without using crayons and paper, then gave them access to anything they needed to let their imaginations run wild? Or if they had to build a fort using only objects they found in the garage? I think it would be amazing the things they came up with if we let them out of OUR box
And teaching them to be happy - I'd paste that across my blog in every article if I could!
Thanks for your post!
Melissa
We forget to teach our children how to be creative. Sure we let them draw and paint and construct (well some people do) but we actually fail our children by not really getting into and exploring their creativity which is very different than our own.
Making money is not just by getting a job and we don't all have to make tonnes of money, we need to teach our children to be happy, to give back more than they take from life, then the world will be a happier and more productive place to live.