The Involved Parent: Tips for A Greater Connection With Your Child

By Alrick Douglas

Parents are called to teach their children independence, hold them accountable, as well as, make tough decisions, to name a few. The listed can both be challenging and demanding when a parent has to balance financially providing and ensuring they have all the resources and support necessary to help them succeed. The truth is parents are expected to be involved as much as possible despite the competing commitments; not to mention if there are other children in the home, the responsibility is greater. Every child is different and requires a different type of time, attention, and connection. 

The Involved Parent is a tool aimed to assist parents in securing a greater and deeper relationship with their child during the most important and developmental years of their lives. 

Parent presence and child connection, interaction, collaboration, are necessary to ensure a child grows up healthy, whole, productive, and feeling loved. Filled with empowering tips, The Involved Parent shares information on how parents can peacefully and comfortably adjust, embrace, connect, engage and balance the necessitate of being a more involved parent.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Al
• Release date: Aug 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781733431019

Book preview

The Involved Parent

Tips for a Greater Connection with Your Child

Alrick Douglas, MA

Alrick Douglas, MA, Paterson, New Jersey

Copyright © 2019 Alrick Douglas. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the authorization of the publisher are illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Limits of Liability ~ Disclaimer

The author and publisher shall not be liable for your misuse of this material. This book is strictly for informational and educational purposes. The author and publisher do not guarantee that anyone following these techniques, suggestions, tips, ideas, or strategies will become successful. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to anyone concerning any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

Cover Design – Okomota

Editing-Interior Layout – The Self-Publishing Maven and The Edit Bae

Formatting – Rasel Khondokar

ISBN – 978-1-7334310-1-9

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my wife Candice and my daughters Aryana and Maigan. Their presence in my life enables me to live the truth of The Involved Parent.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to all the youths and their parents who I have worked with over my professional career as a counselor. The openness and honesty they displayed in communicating their challenges and need for therapeutic support, motivated me to prepare this tool so others can benefit and experience whole lives.

I also want to thank my mom and dad for appreciating, validating, and supporting my efforts for having a heart for people since my teenage years. Their house became a safe space where young people could easily come and be fed physically and emotionally.

I want to appreciate Rajae Powis and Malik Smith for sharing their stories in my capacity as their mentor. Their stories inspired this book in many ways. Additionally, this book could not have been in your hands today had it not been for my personal coach Dr. Jonathan Shaw, who challenges me every day to be consistent where I am passionate. I am forever motivated by his personal discipline and commitment to changing lives.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Presenting Problem

2. Do You Know Me?

3. The Struggle Is Real

4. The Wow Moment

5. The Healthy Talk

6. Words are Arrows

7. The Honor Code

8. How to Be More Present

9. What Box Are You In?

10. Pulling It Together

11. Conclusion

Introduction

M

y inspiration to engage families and offer tips to improve relationship with their teens evolved from my experience mentoring youths over the years. The support needed was immense and I could not ignore their stories as they navigate hope in an environment that did not believe in their purpose or fuel their vision. I always desired to start a conversation on a local level that would generate public change. The Involved Parent provides important tips with real-life accounts of teenagers and their families to explain the need for parents to be more involved in their children’s lives. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, and as a counselor, my goal is to help people who are in imperfect places, bringing them to a place of normalcy to benefit the social and emotional development of the child.

Parents have a voice in the conversation about unexpected events that shift what worked perfectly and creates an imbalance in how the family unit operates. It is important that dialogue be open with the parent and child, so there can be a more authentic relationship as sometimes a child will change their behavior when they hear from their parents that they are really being impacted. The Involved Parent