Parents: Laws of Nature: Love and Teach

By Cookie Oakley LCSW

Your children will be the most important legacy of your life, so what are you doing to give them the best possible chance to succeed?

Cookie Oakley, a licensed clinical social worker, knows all too well that many parents need help answering that question, and her love and teach philosophy that relies on laws of nature can help even first-time parents master the art of raising a child poised for success.

In this guidebook to parenting, youll learn how to: decide what type of parent you want to be; show your children how much you love them; teach your child life skills in an effective and loving manner; and discipline a child without inflicting harm.

Children who are not required to learn core age-appropriate life responsibilities learn to be lazy and expect someone else to meet their demands, which is why its more important than ever to teach them basic life skills.

By being unselfish, loyal, and showing benevolent concern for the good of your children, youll be on your way to helping them become accomplished adults.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jan 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504348881

Cookie Oakley LCSW

Cookie Oakley, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker who serves as a counselor/therapist for families, children, adults, and couples. She’s passionate about helping parents and families to raise children that will thrive. She also teaches groups and parents how to strengthen their relationships in order to make the family foundation stronger. She lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the foothills of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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Copyright © 2016 Cookie Oakley, LCSW.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Author Credits: Fifteen years counseling and teaching parents how to be the best parent possible.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5043-4887-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4889-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4888-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016900191

Balboa Press rev. date: 01/20/2016

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1   The Nature of Parenting

Chapter 2   Parents as Teachers and Coaches

Chapter 3   Independence and Self-Confidence

Chapter 4   Self-Discipline and Self-Love

Chapter 5   Values and Character

Chapter 6   Problem Solving

Chapter 7   Nontraditional Families

Chapter 8   Enjoy Your Children

Chapter 9   Key Habits for a Healthy Family

About the Author

Dedication

To my parents, my children, and my clients, from whom I have learned the most about parenting and families. And to Bobby Drinnon for encouraging me to teach and write.

Preface

This book has evolved from sixteen years of experience in counseling and coaching parents and families when they have sought my professional help to resolve a significant problem within their family functioning. Individual problematic behaviors affect the family functioning, and/or the individual problematic behaviors are a result of a dysfunctional family or dysfunctional parenting practices. I begin with teaching them the basics of a healthy family life, which includes effective parenting skills and how they should function on a daily basis. Through utilization of the basic healthy-family framework, we begin to identify the problems in their family functioning that brought them to seek my professional help.

Together we begin the counseling and coaching process of creating a plan to correct the problems in their family. Since the parents are responsible for making the decisions related to the family functioning and for teaching their children how to function as children and ultimately how to become adults, it is my job to coach the parents through the process of making needed changes and learning the healthiest parental philosophies and skills. I receive a lot of feedback from parents, but the most common is We wish we had known all of this from the beginning when we decided to become parents.

The healthy-family strategy is based on the laws of nature philosophy that has been the primary guide to human existence and survival for thousands of years. I evaluate and recommend changes in parents’ thought processes and attitudes toward raising children in order to establish a happy and healthy family life.

My professional qualifications include a master’s degree in clinical social work from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and licensure as a clinical social worker (LCSW) for the state of Tennessee. My experience includes working in community mental health, employee assistance programs,