Parenting Your Teenager: The 4 Ds of Time with Family

How would you like to have more time? Of course we all want more time. There are just two problems: 1. We can't add more hours to the day; 2. Even if we could add more hours, we would just fill them up with the same stress we have now.

What we can do is use our time differently. And I don't mean buy a new schedule planner. Adapted from the work of Stephen Covey and Anthony Robbins, here are some skills for creating more time in your life and some suggestions for what to do with the time.

Distraction. Distractors are ways we use our time that are not urgent and not important. Some might call it recreation. Exercising, playing a sport, taking a walk, reading a book, watching TV or playing solitaire on your computer are all ways of distracting ourselves from the stress in our lives.

And we all need some distraction in our lives. The problem is that many of us spend far too much time in distraction that could be spent on more life-giving activities.

Delusion. No, I'm not talking about seeing little aliens or believing you are Napoleon. Delusions are the activities in our lives that we make urgent, but really aren't important. Many people get hooked on the thrill of urgency and then run around doing lots of unimportant things.

Demands. Now we are looking at the things that are both urgent and important. An important deadline, the car breaking down, a child sick at school - all are urgent and important.

The time-draining kind of demands that nag at most of us are usually brought on by that old time enemy called procrastination. The next time you find yourself tempted to procrastinate, here's what you do: just put it off. That's right, just say to yourself, I'll procrastinate later, right now I'll get it done.

Destiny. These are the things that may not be urgent but are tremendously important: spending time with family and friends, taking time to relax, building and growing important relationships, planning for the future. These are the things that shape our destiny.

Consider how much time you spend on distractions, delusions and demands. How might your life be different if you spent that time on things that shape your destiny?

Here's one simple yet powerful suggestion I recently heard. Think of it this way: In a child's mind, what is the most important thing they do in a day? Play. In a child's mind, who are the most important people in life? Mom and Dad.

So when we as parents (the most important people in their lives) play with them (the most important activity in their lives), children know that they are important and loved. Not a bad way to spend your time.

For more tips and tools for thriving during the teenage years, visit parenting coach Jeff Herring's ParentingYourTeenager.com

---

Google News Updated : Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:08:57 GMT Pfizer to Pitch Treatment For Osteoporosis to FDA Panel - Wall Street Journal Khaleej Times Pfizer to Pitch Treatment For Osteoporosis to FDA Panel Wall Street Journal - 4 hours ago By JARED A. FAVOLE and SHIRLEY S. WANG Pfizer Inc. is due to appear Monday before outside medical experts and Food and Drug Administration officials to make a case for allowing its Fablyn osteoporosis drug on the market. Irradiation's expansion increases scrutiny of FDA Sun-Sentinel.com FDA to List Drugs Being Investigated Washington Post Science Daily (press release) - U.S. News & World Report - Food Consumer - WebMD all 581 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:00:26 GMT Stocks in Europe, Asia, US Futures Rally on Fannie, Freddie - Bloomberg ABC News Stocks in Europe, Asia, US Futures Rally on Fannie, Freddie Bloomberg - 30 minutes ago By Michael Patterson Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Europe and Asia climbed and US futures gained on speculation the US government's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will shore up the mortgage market and stem losses at financial firms. Video: AP Top Stories AssociatedPress WRAPUP 1-China, Japan hail US mortgage bailout as doubts linger Reuters guardian.co.uk - Forbes - Los Angeles Times - Financial Times all 5,873 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:38:07 GMT WaMu chief reportedly ousted Silicon Valley / San Jose Business ... - Bizjournals.com Wall Street Journal WaMu chief reportedly ousted Silicon Valley / San Jose Business ... Bizjournals.com - 2 hours ago Kerry K. Killinger has been forced out as chief executive of Washington Mutual Inc., according to reports on Sunday. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed people briefed on the situation who said Killinger's 18 years at the helm of ... WaMu's woes claim CEO Killinger Seattle Post Intelligencer On the Economy WaMu board stuck with Killinger for too long Seattle Times New York Times - Forbes - CNNMoney.com - Bloomberg all 79 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:12:05 GMT Revis' interception with :05 left saves Jets - Newsday Washington Post Revis' interception with :05 left saves Jets Newsday - 1 hour ago BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com Could the quarterback the Jets cut loose to make room for his ballyhooed replacement hand the only franchise he'd ever known an embarrassing defeat? Favre and Jets fly past Dolphins Philadelphia Inquirer Interception Ends Pennington’s Hopes for Last-Second Victory New York Times FOXSports.com - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - Sun-Sentinel.com - The Associated Press all 931 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:05:21 GMT New Pakistan President Will Face `Struggling' Economy (Update1) - Bloomberg Telegraph.co.uk New Pakistan President Will Face `Struggling' Economy (Update1) Bloomberg - 1 hour ago By James Rupert Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari is set to take over as president of a country with the world's riskiest debt, the weakest currency in its history and a stock market so depressed that the exchange ordered a freeze on ... Video: Inside Story-Pakistan's New President-Sept 7, Part 1 AlJazeeraEnglish Pakistan's new president Jerusalem Post Times Online - Financial Times - AFP - Blogcritics.org all 3,885 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:59:51 GMT Police: PM's ex-law partner Messer should also be indicted - Jerusalem Post Police: PM's ex-law partner Messer should also be indicted Jerusalem Post - 1 hour ago By YAAKOV LAPPIN AND JPOST.COM STAFF As well as recommending that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert be charged in the Talansky and Rishon Tours affairs, police also said there was sufficient evidence to indict the prime minister's close associate and former ... Israeli police recommend to indict Olmert's ex-law partner Xinhua Olmert: Kadima will remain a leading party Ynetnews Press Trust of India - New York Times - Voice of America - guardian.co.uk all 377 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:51:54 GMT MSNBC Drops Olbermann, Matthews as News Anchors - Washington Post Dallas Morning News MSNBC Drops Olbermann, Matthews as News Anchors Washington Post - 3 hours ago By Howard Kurtz MSNBC is removing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as the anchors of live political events, bowing to growing criticism that they are too opinionated to be seen as neutral in the heat of the presidential campaign. MSNBC Takes Incendiary Hosts From Anchor Seat New York Times MSNBC switches election anchors Chicago Tribune The Associated Press - Monsters and Critics.com - Reiten Television KXMB Bismarck - Right Pundits all 118 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:12:15 GMT Add RSS Feeds To My Web Pages Web Site Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Naming Your Baby Is Part of The Challenge of Being a Parent

Baby names are as diverse as the people to whom... Read More

Talk Your Child Clever

Most parents can hardly wait for their baby to say... Read More

Teaching Kids the Value of Money

My husband and I have a 12-year-old daughter who wanted... Read More

Normal and Logical Consequences

Successful parents have learned to be both firm and kind... Read More

Why First Borns Fuss, Seconds Are Resilient and Last Borns Like To Laugh

How can two or three children in the same family... Read More

ParentingYour Teenager: Dont Buy the I Dont Know and I Dont Care Attitude

"I don't know and I don't care."I've heard those words... Read More

How Often Does Child Sexual Abuse Get Reported?

Not nearly as often as it should. Most child abuse... Read More

Saying No To Our Children

Saying no to our children is not always easy or... Read More

Top Ten Ways to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Kids

Having a high level of emotional intelligence in your children... Read More

Examining Drugs for ADHD, Particularly Strattera

In memory of 14 year old Matthew Smith; 11 year... Read More

Small Children, Languages and Myths

Our children are growing up bilingual in the French part... Read More

Educational Toys - How Do Parents Choose The Best Toys For Their Child

The choices are mind numbing. Walk into any toy store... Read More

Help! My Kids Dont Listen to Me

Does this sound familiar? Have your kids not listened to... Read More

Tackle, Tackle

I don't know how people raise daughters because I have... Read More

Pieces of Time and Pivotal Moments

Life is comprised of pieces of time sprinkled with pivotal... Read More

Influencing Adolescents - Guided Democracy

You need to smart to be able influence adolescents. You... Read More

I Cant Sleep Without You

When my firstborn arrived into this serene and peaceful household,... Read More

Your Company Vehicle is a Portable Bill Board; A word of advice on children passengers

Child Safety Restraints and children in work vehiclesIf you take... Read More

6 Signs You?re A High Maintenance Parent

The children of Baby Boomers, the Echo Generation, are entering... Read More

Partnering With Your Daycare or Preschool

For the most positive daycare experience for your child, partner... Read More

Eco-Parenting

Arabella Greatorex, owner of The Natural Nursery, reports on the... Read More

A Night Out For Mom & Dad

Is your babysitter watching the kids and your k9 family... Read More

Did You Get the Hidden Parenting Message in Finding Nemo?

In the movie, Finding Nemo, Nemo's father, Marlyn asks the... Read More

Nail Biting Basics

Nail biting in all its various forms is problematic... Read More

Raising Strong Daughters

When my daughter was born, I must admit there was... Read More