Parents were not handed a manual along with the baby that describes the best way to raise their child.  New Source Counseling is here to help parents along the often difficult road of raising children to be healthy, functional adults.  Most parents want to raise emotionally healthy, responsible children who have a good value system. 

 By the time children are a year old, parents have already begun the process of this teaching.  As they daily instruct their child, making sure that he obeys, that he shares with friends, that he is being kind, and, at the same time, teaching him to set boundaries so that no one hurts him emotionally or physically, values become a core part of the child’s life.   How do parents teach their child the importance of hard work, honest, and humility and other core values? 

 Here are some tips: Instead of simply telling children how to live, parents should show them.   Children learn the most by the modeling of their parents. Parents should teach character and responsibility with consistent empathy and equally consistent consequences for both positive and negative behaviors.  As these suggestions are put into practice, children are more likely to grow up and become grateful for the good parents that they had.  We at New Source Counseling Centers are here to help answer questions and to help parents to be more effective in this work.

It is 5:30 am Thanksgiving morning and I’m thinking about Joe Hawkins and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Joe’s team is once again in the national spotlight and will soon play USC for a spot in the BCS championship game. Tammy and I met Joe and Diane and their beautiful family through our dear [...]

Are we there yet? A recent trip to Florida resurrected this question that I hadn’t heard since the days of summer vacations with our children, Stephanie and Ryan. Our most recent journey to the sunshine state included our three oldest grandsons Caleb, Luke, and Isaac (Stephanie and youngest grandson Jude met us in Orlando). Needless [...]

We all have fears, right?  I mean fear is normal, isn’t it?  After all, there are many things that can cause us to feel afraid or anxious.  Just turning on the TV or radio or opening the morning paper exposes us to a variety of things of which we can be afraid.  There are countless [...]