With the perspective of an elder, I see that today’s families have become child-driven, child-centred. The net effect of running this kind of household is children with an inflated sense of entitlement and of their importance. This is very self-defeating because we all want to raise children who will be liked by most people and this kind of child-centred household produces the opposite results.

As parents we have to start to care less about being popular with or liked by our kids and care more about being right and responsible. If they don’t like us some of the time, it means we are doing our job.

The home is where children need to learn about kindness and compassion – and first of all to self.  Once children are taught how to have a gentle awareness of themselves, this gentleness accumulates within and becomes a gift that they can give away to another.

I regularly see parents distressed over their child’s behaviour. In the same ways that we must look after ourselves to ensure optimum mental and physical health, so too must we teach our children to do the same. So much of our children’s troubling behaviour can be eased through diet. We, as parents, must learn to recognize how eating wholesome, natural, unrefined foods is a powerful ticket to feeling good.

I encourage parents to learn how to listen actively and how to teach their children a language they may use to express their feelings.