How to Raise Successful People

I’d have them write me an apology and reflect on how they could improve (I guess I’m in good company, because Ruth Bader Ginsburg reportedly assigned essays when her children misbehaved).

1. Are you generally punctual or often late to events and appointments? Punctuality shows respect for people’s time. Being

sometimes we are held back by our own insecurities. As parents, this is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome, but we’re all capable of treating our children respectfully if we keep the basics in mind. Honor their wishes and interests, which may be different from our own. Challenge them to be their best at whatever activities they choose.

We all have the ability to “earn” security through conscious self-reflection, which we can then pass on to our children.

TRUST—Was your home a trusting environment? Did you trust your parents as a child? Did they trust you? How was trust shown or demonstrated in your family? Was there ever a breach of trust? If so, how was it resolved? How could you improve upon what you learned about trust as a child? What kind of a trusting environment do you want to create for you

The global erosion of trust is bad for mental health, relationships, business, and foreign relations, and it’s especially bad for democracy.

Remember, trust is mutual. The degree to which your children can trust you will be reflected in their own ability to trust.

CARING IS KINDNESS; that is my mantra. In the fall of 2002, I got a call from my mother’s doctor telling me she’d been admitted to the hospital. She was ninety-one, and she’d been sick and unable to walk for years. Recently, she’d been suffering from urinary tract infections and needed antibiotics almost all the time.

society. How we raise and educate our children determines not only the people they become but the society we create.