How to toughen up kids and train them for adulthood

Some parents worry about their sons and ask the question- how to toughen up your son. If you need advice in how to toughen up your son then the answers are here waiting for you!
How to Toughen Up Your Kids and Prepare Them for Adulthood
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How to toughen up kids and train them for adulthood

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A lot of teens are raised in upper demographic households where life is easy and it’s up to the parent to introduce struggle into these children’s lives. And it isn’t like you don’t love your child – it’s because you love them you want them to understand life is tough out there. Scott Picks said, "Life is difficult." And the moment they leave the nest, life will be difficult. So childhood is a perfect time to train for adulthood. So there are some things you do – you get them a job. Working with having to show up on time, putting in 20 hours a week of doing stuff you don’t want to do, making money then realizing, “Okay, a $2000 Channel purse is 300 hours of work.” And suddenly, that puts things in perspective. So you want them to work. And they will always say, “My kid’s… my friends don’t work.” Too bad. They’ll always say, “I don’t have time to work.” They do. It introduces them to the real world. So work is number one. Number two – make them fight their own battles. They’re going to get in… they’re going to have to face consequences with teachers, they’ll have to face consequences with principles, they’ll have to face consequences with angry bosses – don’t pick up the phone and try to handle it yourself. Let your child handle it. Let them learn how to deal with adults. And again, 14, 15, 16 – that’s the time to learn to face the adult world, not when you’re 30. Third, don’t let them to just quit stuff, because it’s hard. Don’t pay, you know, $2000 for guitar lessons, let them go to 3 lessons and then they quit. Make them finish what they started. And if you’re fortunate enough to have the money, send them on mission trips where they can live in tents in Bolivia and see how another world lives. And let them spend 2 weeks building a home. There’s all kinds of things that even rich parents can do for their children that can toughen them up for the world.

Some parents worry about their sons and ask the question- how to toughen up your son. If you need advice in how to toughen up your son then the answers are here waiting for you!

Transcript

Expert Bio

More from Expert

Harry H. Harrison Jr.

Best-Selling Parenting Author

Harry Harrison is the New York Times best-selling author of some of the most well known parenting books in the world.  He has appeared on television shows across the country, been interviewed on over 50 national radio programs including NPR, and is a regular contributor to websites like Dr. Laura.com, Sheknows.com, parentingpink.com, storknet.com, and sharecare.com (a collaboration between Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil).

His books aren’t the normal narrative read, but concise, sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant chunks of inspiration and advice that parents read and reread over again. He has also written two eBooks directed towards college students to guide and motivate them to earn a college degree.  Mr. Harrison and his wife, Melissa, have raised two incredible sons.

More Parenting Videos from Harry H. Harrison Jr. >
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