May 31, 2018
Biggest Takeaways:
- You have your own umbrella (so does everyone else) and underneath it are your own thoughts, feelings, values, etc.
- You are not responsible for what is under anyone else’s umbrella – and no one else is responsible for what’s under yours
- When you try to take responsibility for anyone else’s thoughts, feelings, values, etc., you are under their umbrella, not your own
- When you’re under someone else’s umbrella, it means they don’t have to be responsible for their own stuff – because you’re doing the job for them
- Our teens have their own umbrellas and trying to control their thoughts, feelings, values, etc. will backfire
- When we dialog about what is good, loving, and healthy rather than what makes me happy, we can have more productive conversations
- When you have teens, there are lots of gray areas, and sometimes you hold conflicting values – you have to figure out what value has priority in that moment and situation
- My responsibility as a parent is to train, model, and reinforce with the hope that my teens will adopt my values and beliefs – they have the freedom to adopt or reject them
You can join the Umbrella discussion here on FaceBook.
To listen to other discussions between Tami and Amy, check out Episodes 9 and 10.