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What are/were your top priorities as a parent in terms of raising your children?

I raised my (no pics) girls to think independently, work hard, and pursue their passions. They both never let their high school GPAs drop bellow a 3.9 and my oldest just transferred into UC Berkeley on an academic scholarship. They can also both defend themselves with Muay Thai, they hate MAGA, and can out fish most grown men I know...those were also very important.
 
The traits I am most trying to develop in my kids are as follows;

1. Independent mindset: I want them to move out and want to move out post H/S. The home should be safe but never made "too comfortable" for them. There will be no 30 years olds living in my basement, hell there will be no 20 year olds doing so either.

2. Work ethic and grit: These traits alone will seperate you from 90%+ of your competition in the corporate world.

3. Be an explorer: Take on risk via being willing to take on new and difficult challenges. Get temporarily uncomfortable to find out how far you can stretch yourself.

4. Establish Roots and make things better: When you decided to settle into a community be an active participant in it. Volunteer, be active, make the world around you better and if you have kids make sure they see you doing as much so they can learn those same values. Leave your mark and leave it better than when you found it.
1. Faith
2. Respect everyone
3. Independence
4. Marry well
Sent to private Christian school for a reason!
 
Be kind, just and gracious
Work hard and be humble
Protect the vulnerable
Don’t be an asshole
Ditto my man. And add, be inclusive. My 7 yo daughter is reaching the age where some girls in her class are already getting cliquey. She is a friend to all and we always try to reinforce the importance of stepping up and including everyone on the playground, in social settings, etc. I mean I’m realistic and know eventually kids naturally form their own groups, but dammit not just yet! Stay innocent!
 
As someone who has worked with elementary age kids for almost 30 years, if you don’t have ‘limit social media’ on your list if you have young ones, it needs to be there. 4 out 5 days now at my job I deal with issues stemming from social media. The issues are real and dangerous.
 
The traits I am most trying to develop in my kids are as follows;

1. Independent mindset: I want them to move out and want to move out post H/S. The home should be safe but never made "too comfortable" for them. There will be no 30 years olds living in my basement, hell there will be no 20 year olds doing so either.

2. Work ethic and grit: These traits alone will seperate you from 90%+ of your competition in the corporate world.

3. Be an explorer: Take on risk via being willing to take on new and difficult challenges. Get temporarily uncomfortable to find out how far you can stretch yourself.

4. Establish Roots and make things better: When you decided to settle into a community be an active participant in it. Volunteer, be active, make the world around you better and if you have kids make sure they see you doing as much so they can learn those same values. Leave your mark and leave it better than when you found it.
I think the one thing I hoped for, which is sort of latent in several of your items, is courage. Courage is everything.

(I got lucky and some other stuff stuck with them as well.)
 
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Hockey. That’s my priority as a parent. Spend as much time and money on hockey as possible to get my son to the NHL. So far he’s about average at the squirt level, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before he bursts up the ranks. Once his rocket ship takes off, NHL here we come!
Go goalie or go home. Best part is, as the parent, no one will try to sit with you at games b
 
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The traits I am most trying to develop in my kids are as follows;

1. Independent mindset: I want them to move out and want to move out post H/S. The home should be safe but never made "too comfortable" for them. There will be no 30 years olds living in my basement, hell there will be no 20 year olds doing so either.

2. Work ethic and grit: These traits alone will seperate you from 90%+ of your competition in the corporate world.

3. Be an explorer: Take on risk via being willing to take on new and difficult challenges. Get temporarily uncomfortable to find out how far you can stretch yourself.

4. Establish Roots and make things better: When you decided to settle into a community be an active participant in it. Volunteer, be active, make the world around you better and if you have kids make sure they see you doing as much so they can learn those same values. Leave your mark and leave it better than when you found it.
This is a pretty good list. I also want my kids to be able to make good decisions. Allow them to make mistakes because mistakes when they are young are usually far less consequential than mistakes with bad decisions later in life. I think your list fits right in with that.
 
Ditto my man. And add, be inclusive. My 7 yo daughter is reaching the age where some girls in her class are already getting cliquey. She is a friend to all and we always try to reinforce the importance of stepping up and including everyone on the playground, in social settings, etc. I mean I’m realistic and know eventually kids naturally form their own groups, but dammit not just yet! Stay innocent!

It’s been awhile ago since they were in public school, but I remember the pride I felt when my boys were described as “a friend to everyone” at conferences or in grade reports. It reinforced to me that we were doing at least something right while raising them.
 
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Mostly to make sure they never exist. Mission accomplished, I think. Should have never done a 23andme though, that was a risk.
 
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3. Be an explorer: Take on risk via being willing to take on new and difficult challenges. Get temporarily uncomfortable to find out how far you can stretch yourself.
Looks like OP's mom took trait 3 quite literally herself
 
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Work hard
No excuses
Empathy
Have fun-laugh
Be active
never bully or intentionally make someone feel bad about themselves
Find things you are passionate about and learn about these things
 
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2. do your best at everything
3. hate the cyclones


Funny - hate the hurricanes and gators AND, not support those colors together. My kids will share M&Ms, but never give green/orange or blue/orange, always have to mx it up.
Reading. Read as much as you want and what you want.
Be kind (this was by default for them, must have gotten it from their mom).
Try hard, don't quit.
Sports are great, if you try hard, but it isn't life, it is a part of life.
I need to trust what they say, so don't lie (for now, selective lying will come later as a tool)
How to speak in public and to strangers, my eldest is horribly shy and has a lot of anxiety about this.
 
Be kind
Work hard
The worlds a big place- Go explore it. Meet people different from you.
Remember your word- They can take your job, they can take your money, they can even take your life, but they can never take your word. It's the one thing that's free in life but can cost you the most when you go back on it.
 
If only raising kids were as easy as typing a bunch of saintly values on a message board (edit - that few follow themselves).
 
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Honest HORT answer = “I just hope my son has a super hot girlfriend and brings her over a lot along with her other hot friends. I should build a pool. And/or, I hope my daughter has super hot friends that come over and need rides from me and I’m definitely building that pool.”
Want my son to bang hot chicks.
Want my daughter to bang hot chicks.
weird
 
We moved a good bit and my son went to five schools, seven if you count preschool, and my no pic younger daughter went to five, so we had no choice but to encourage them to be open to new experiences and not afraid to meet new people.
The main value we believed in was just the basic golden rule of treating others the way you would want others to treat you. That and any other value is best instilled in your kids by parental example.
I admit there were the teenage days when yours truly swore out loud that “somebody in this house might get murdered today and it won’t be ME”
They had some uh, adventurous times but they’re both grownup good humans who respect other humans and are smart, caring, and good conservatives. Love them both to the moon and back.
 
This is a pretty good list. I also want my kids to be able to make good decisions. Allow them to make mistakes because mistakes when they are young are usually far less consequential than mistakes with bad decisions later in life. I think your list fits right in with that.
Good point!
 
Good list OP!

I'm glad that my daughter graduated from high school in 2000 and not 2024. The world really changed a lot in those 24 years.
 
Good list OP!

I'm glad that my daughter graduated from high school in 2000 and not 2024. The world really changed a lot in those 24 years.

Obviously we all see the changes in that time frame, so we each have our own perspectives. But I have observed things throughout the judicial system; as well school as school board decorum. Parties, attorneys, worst of all (because I respect them) judges have changed demeanors.

I'm not saying the good 'ole boys system was good. But if you can't give respect to your adversary, the system falls a part.

My wife is an elementary principal. Nearly 90% (my estimates not hers) has to do with teachers sabotaging things when change is warranted; parents that want to blame all their kids faults on the school; and kids that have never learned what accountability looks like. My better half is a genius when it comes to data and how it can be used. A lot of teachers want to blame the data on (I got all the naughty students)
 
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I wanted my son to be respectful of other people, to make good life decisions, and be able to support himself comfortably. I wanted him to be confident but no cocky. He's exceeded by expectations.
 
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