Would you leave you dog locked in your car with temperatures reaching the 100s. A woman left her dog locked in the car with the window rolled up and a police officer found the dog. The officer was waiting for her. He wanted to teach her a lesson. Watch the video and let me know if you think what he did was right or wrong. Just remember if a person can leave a pet locked in a car they can leave a child locked in their car as well. On average, 37 children die from heat-related deaths after being trapped inside vehicles
The Leadership Insiders network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in business contribute answers to timely questions about careers and leadership. Today’s answer to the question, “What’s your morning routine before going to work?” is written by Mike Steib, CEO of XO Group Inc. Being a good leader requires stamina.…
Do you ever feel tired by lunch? I know I do. I read this article and I am going to try to get into this. I use to have enough energy to last on 6 to 7 hours of sleep. Now if I do not get 8 hours I am tired by first break. It is hard when you are worn out after work to get home to fix dinner, clean up, pay bills, and whatever else needs done. Life is not simple. We need to take care of ourselves to be able to survive in this complicated life.
There has been many protesters about President Donald Trump’s ban on countries that are a threat to the United States. But did you ever think what they would do to us if we were in their country? Will the welcome us with open arms? Will they torture and kill us within hours? I have heard stories from my father and a friend that it is not very good over seas in places like Iraq. Watch this video from a US Marine that lets us know what would happen to us, natural Americans, if we walked into one of their towns.
A stepfather is not a true father. There is a way he can become a dad though. A dad is a man that teaches the son to play baseball, talk about sports, advise on getting the first girlfriend, and help them make difficult decisions in life but accepts their decision. It is hard when the stepfather does not do any of these and more. When a man gains enough trust to become father and then fails later in life they may lose the trust they had from the beginning as stepfather.
Dos and Don’ts A Stepfather Should Do
The reason I am writing this is because I am one of the 2/3 of the people of the United States in a divorced family. I have had good and bad times growing up, but looking back it seems to be more bad times. I hope a stepfather, mother, or child reads and shares this to help others out like all of us in broken families.
1. Stepfathers Don’t Criticize Your Stepchildren, Instead Complicate What They Do Well and Encourage Them Positively To Do Better.
Now I can hear everyone now, “I never criticize my stepchild.”. Well you may not think so, but I will guarantee if it has a negative word in it the child takes it negative.
When I was a child and my stepfather was teaching me how to use a drill I always had problems holding the drill straight and perpendicular to the board. He would always yell at me and tell me that is not the way you do it! I always felt like a failure, I could not make him happy, and if i could not do it then he should do it himself. He still really has not changed over the last thirty years, but you can.
Instead of talking negative, talk positive. Tell them they are doing a good job. Then ask them what are they doing right and what are they doing wrong. Whatever they say do not say NO. Let us say they are like I was as a child and could not drill straight through. Let us also say they do not mention they are drilling wrong. Well then ask them to show you how they drill without turning the drill on. As soon as you see the drill incorrect then ask them if they see anything wrong at this moment. If they continue to avoid the problem then tell them the drill is in the wrong position. It needs to be straight up and down so the drill goes through the wood nice and easy. Pointing out a problem is not being negative, it is actually positive because you are avoiding a problem by making the child aware. They may not listen the first few times, but eventually they will listen willing and not to stop you from yelling at them. When they listen to you a few times you will get respect from them and with respect comes trust and honesty. Also love is where all these emotions come from, so the more respect, trust, and honesty you get from your child the more love will grow.
2. The Difference in Generations Have a Bearing on What We Like on Television
Therecan be a pretty big gap in generations when it comes to parents getting remarried. There are many differences in generations. When I was a kid there was no internet, the Atari came out a couple years before I was born, I grew up playing the Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and Sony Playstation. I was in high school when the internet came to the home on dial up. Now there is PS4, Xbox, Netflix, and high speed internet no more weird sounds when getting online. Just think that was almost 40 years ago. What if I was married to a woman from 60, 65, or 70 years ago things were different before the 80’s.
It is not wrong to marry the person you love, rather it is your first marriage or second marriage. What is wrong is not taking in consideration the whole family. If it is a remarriage then the children need to be considered. A mate that is about your age would more than likely be better than one with a great age difference, rather they are 20 years older or younger. If it is a mate that is 20+ years difference then the children definitely need tested on how well they can relate.
One of the great things today is technology. One thing you can do is give them some alone time with their potential step parent and point a webcam at them to see how well they get along. They may behave or act differently with their parent there, so leaving the room is a good way to see their reactions. Do not need to make it all day. Just go get something from your car and watch it on your smartphone. You see problems from the child or potential mate talk to them to solve the problem. Also stepfather will be step father not dad. Give them the choice rather to use their name to address him, stepfather needs to treat the stepson with a little more love and respect, and there needs to be bonding. If this cannot begin before the marriage then he is not what is needed for the family. Mom is not marrying for a husband, but a husband and father. It is like buying a Big Mac combo. The Big Mac is hot and good, but the fries are old and cold. The Big mac represents the husband and the fries represent the stepfather. What would you do if you could not get fresh fries, toss them in the trash. You may eat the cold fries now and then because you are really hungry, starving for love, but eventually you will see the truth, that it is not worth to satisfy the hunger now and then you would rather have it fully satisfied. When this happens you will feel rejected from you stepfather. You may spend time trying to figure it out or you may just accept it and move on. It has taken me a long time to accept that I have never been accepted as a son. This year I have decided to move forward and live my life, my way, and follow Jesus Christ.
The difference in years may cause many conflicts. These need resolved before marriage or the family will fall apart and there will be no happiness. Some people are meant to be friends, not spouses.
We all need support everyday. It helps our confidence. That is why when we have a positive person with us at work the day goes great, but when a negative person is there it seems everything goes wrong. It is all in your mind. It is the same but different when growing up with a negative stepfather or one who does not support your decisions as you grow up.
I want to talk about video games. The reason is because i was so into them when growing up especially the role playing games (RPGs). My sister on the other hand enjoy playing video games, but she loved writing and still does it today. We both have a creative mind, but I am more of a visual and she has a greater imagination.
When I would be downstairs all day playing the video games my stepfather could not comprehend why I would play them all day. I would tell him that I put them on pause to eat. He took it too serious. One problem was he could and never did understand what a video game meant to us. It was intriguing, solving problems, reaching goals, beating things up, and just having fun. I tried to relate it to what he did as a child. I told him to think about the one thing you did as a child you did that was the most fun. Now today that is video games the most fun thing to do. He told me he didn’t have any fun. Well I do not believe that. The point is he would talk negative of what my interest was. When Facebook came around he talk down on that and he never even gets online. Speaking negative about everything your stepson has interest in hurts your relationship and hurts his emotions and confidence. Show him support to their interest, as long as they are legal, rather you have interest or understand it. Setting limits is a good thing. Especially while the child is still in school. You do not want them to get distracted chatting on Facebook when they need to be doing homework. Although they can be chatting with a friend to help them with their homework or to study. They need to make you aware what they are doing. I believe go over video on Facebook would be better to study with a friend than typing. Free up your hands to take notes, look through books, and do flash cards.
It is also great to know when you do a good job at any stage in life. It builds confidence. If you always get criticized you will develop a negative mind a think everything you hear is negative. Saying “thank-you” or “please” is not hard to do, but it means so much especially to a child. It makes them feel appreciated. Also an allowance as they grow up is good. Not only does it give them positive mind, but it can help them budget money for the future. I know with income vs. expenses these days it is not easy, but when it comes to lunch money, money for sports or band, camping, or any other extra expenses you have for them that you just hand them money for make them earn it. Give them chores and tell them that this money is for whatever you intend it for. That they need to save the money so they can get lunch, let’s say. Also tell them if they have any money at the end of the week they can keep it for whatever the want with your permission. This will help them learn when to spend and when to save. May even teach then to take a sacrifice for what they really want. It will just be like transferring money from a savings to checking account. Money is still in the bank, but will be spent. it takes responsibility off of you as well.
Conclusion Of StepFathers
When growing up from a child to teen to adult it can be hard when there is almost no support through the challenging times we have in life. When a boy does not have a man to bond with it feels like you are alone and fighting an endless battle. It takes a team to win the Super Bowl, not just one player. Family needs to be a team. They need to talk, agree on solutions, give a little to get a little, and to show love. I did not get much of this in my life, but I did learn from his mistakes. God works in mysterious ways.
We all have a complicated life. Some of us have problems with finances, some of us with friends, some of us with the lost of a loved one, and some have problems with peers and parents growing up. I am going to focus on the latter. I am focusing on a problem I have had since I was seven. It has been difficult for me to comprehend because the Bible says,
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
The main point is “Be kind on to another”. When people can never be kind it is hard to put away the bitterness.
Childhood was Difficult and not Happy
I have always believed childhood should be a happy time. A time to learn, to grow up, to experience new things all the time, but now I look back a believe that childhood is a rough hard road that we need to battle. We grow strength from learning from our challenges, unfairness, and the neglect we had as a child. When we grow up we are responsible for ourselves and have full control.
School was not always great
There are reasons I believe this. One of the main ones is because of all the troubles I had in school. I was always harassed in elementary school. My step-father, which I will get to soon, did not believe me, my mother did although. When I was in public school my sister saw kids pushing me around, calling me names, and even trying to pick a fight.
When I was in the second grade I begged my mother to take me out of public school. She did and put me into a Christian school. I made a few friends there, which are still friends today, but there were more jerks then nice people. I still got picked on, but the teachers and the principal did something about it. I even got into a couple fights my four years there. One was when we were on our ski trip. When the principal found out he pulled the guy off the slopes and sat him in the ski resort. The principal also suspended him. My friend left that school and went to a different Christian school so I went with them.
School gets better
This is the school I graduated from and the church I go to today. Here I had more friends, but had some religious differences. There were a few people I wish were never there, but we cannot have a day go the way we want it to all the time. Some things happen for a reason, because God has a purpose for it. One thing I have learned from what I put up with through school is always be kind to people around you. You may never know if a person is having a good day or bad day, lost a loved one or expecting a newborn, or has a lot of stress on their mind or is the happiest person on earth. Keep your mind open because you may be there to save a person or they are there to save you.
Father issues since I was a child
Now earlier I mentioned about my step-father not believing me on the problems I had in school. Well it did not stop there. I do not always believe a person at first, but when it gets consistent then I get curious if it is true or not. That has never been my step-dad.
When I wanted to go out to eat on Sunday after church I knew I had to bother my mother. If I even mentioned it to my step-father he would not take us out. Then I wondered if he did not take us because we asked to go. I thought he did not like us asking to go out to eat. Now I believe it was because it was not his idea. Looking back in life with my step-father he was and is a self-centered, egotistical, selfish, jerk. My whole life I have never liked people like this. The last decade it has been a lot worse. As of New Year’s Day I have had enough! I have cut him off as my step-father, I am no longer talking to him, nor offering any help. It is over 30 years of he is always right and everyone else is always wrong. What happened that Sunday is not really significant. I will say he was saying I was wrong and I had non-argumentative proof that I was right. When a person cannot admit they are wrong sincerely they are guilty of pride and arrogance.
“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”
You may wonder why I would cut him out of my life. Well it is not as simple as going out to eat after church. He has always been negative. I have been ambitious since I was in high school. Words affect you especially if you hear them your entire life. When all you hear are negative word from a person they make you think negative. Although I have always had a drive to be someone better than him, better than me. I always want to improve myself one way or another. So it has always been like an ongoing fight that no one ever wins. It is no longer worth being near such a negative person that it holds my life, my mind back so much I cannot believe in myself. Now I am focusing entirely on myself. It may sound selfish, but I have given so much of my life away it is time to live. It may not stay constant. Once I am living maybe things will settle, but until then it is time to start my life.
