The Conference Coach™

Obama’s speech yesterday reached 56 million students.  The ideas in the speech were mainstream, practical and uplifting.  Now, I’d like to offer some back to school ideas for parents.  Between my days as VP at Raindance (now InterCall) and Copper Conferencing, I founded Phoenix Outdoor, an adolescent wilderness therapy program for troubled teens.  My focus was as much on helping the parents as working with their children.  Here are some “back to school” ideas that parents should consider:

• Set boundaries with your children and consistently follow them.
• Be involved, but do not do the work for your children.
• Let your child experience the natural consequences of their actions.Know your child’s friends and their friend’s parents.
• Use any internet-based tools available to monitor your child’s progress – do this daily.
• Remember that nobody is perfect.  Success and failure are both valuable life lessons.
• Don’t over commit or over schedule your children.
• Strike a balance between holding teachers accountable and trying to tell them what to do.
• Taking AP classes vs. Honors classes earn college credit.
• Drugs are pervasive in both middle and high school.  Reliable tests are available online or at drug stores. 
• Random drug test your child whether you think they are involved with drugs or not.
• Do not allow cell phones or computers in your child’s room after bedtime.
• Remember, that school is their experience, not yours.  You’ve already been to school.

Parents, you have a really hard job these days.  Access to the Internet, cell phones, television, drugs and other distractions makes raising children much harder these days.  My hat is off to you.  Welcome to your back to school challenge!