78 www. AspireMAG. net | February / March 2017
Giving Up Control Allows Kids to Create GOOD HABITS
BY SHARON BALLANTINE
Like so many people, I wanted to be the“ perfect parent.” With that goal in mind, I jumped in whenever I perceived there to be a problem that my son wasn’ t addressing. I thought I should try to“ help” him fix the situation. Honestly, I’ m not sure how either of us survived his childhood.
One area of contention was my son’ s eating habits. I restricted sweets in the house since they were a big temptation for him, and served only healthy meals and snacks. My need to control his eating habits intensified to the point where I started hiding snacks that I was saving for school lunches.
78 www. AspireMAG. net | February / March 2017