National Best-Selling Author Offers Parenting Workshop

Green Country students aren't the only ones heading back to school. It was Parenting 101 in Sapulpa Thursday. A national best-selling author doled out his own brand of common sense parenting advice.

Thursday, August 16th 2007, 7:59 pm

By: News On 6

Green Country students aren't the only ones heading back to school. It was Parenting 101 in Sapulpa Thursday. A national best-selling author doled out his own brand of common sense parenting advice. The News On 6â€™s Ashli Sims sat down with parenting expert, John Rosemond. She reports he has three things you can do to bring out the best in your child.

"I think in general people like me have given bad advice,â€ said Rosemond.

So, why should you take advice from this man?

â€œI often tell people I've never had an original idea in my life. I'm channeling for grandma,â€ Rosemond said.

His grandma's wisdom has sold thousands of books and made him a sought after guest speaker. Folks from all over Green Country came to hear what he had to say about being a better parent.

â€œHaving two of them this close together is just, I say at least now I have an excuse to be crazy,â€ said parent Darla Vance. "I need all of the help I can get."

"We want to get anything we can to help them be successful, and that's what we're looking for,â€ said teacher Rick Meacham.

But the old-fashioned, often comical, Rosemond says the kind of things you might not want to hear.

"Children should pay more attention to adults than adults do to children,â€ Rosemond said. â€œI believe children should be well supervised and otherwise ignored."

And Rosemond says parents should also ignore what he calls psychobabble.

â€œWe have substituted a reality of child rearing for a mythology, and itâ€™s time that we understood that and got back to basics,â€ he said.

He calls the basics teaching kids the three R's, respect, responsibility and resourcefulness. Rosemond also advises parents to always believe the teacher, even if they're not always right.

â€œItâ€™s OK for children to know they may get falsely accused,â€ Rosemond said. â€œSupport your teacher in the final analysis that will pay off."

And limit homework help.

â€œBecause most of the help amounts to enabling, itâ€™s not help," said Rosemond.

Thursdayâ€™s workshop is kicking off a real push for parent education in Sapulpa. They've already scheduled six classes for the next two months.

For more information about classes, click here.

For more information about John Rosemond, visit his website at www.rosemond.com.

Watch the video: Green Country Parents Head Back To School