I asked parents a question on social media not to long ago. The question was, “What do your worry about or fear the most as a parent?”

Here Are The Top 3 Answers:

1. I am afraid that my child will get hurt or get really sick.

2. I am afraid that my child will be bullied online or in person.

3. I am afraid my child will get off course in life.

I have been asking this question at parenting conferences and to individual parents for about a year now and the three answers above are pretty consistent with most parents.

When it comes to our children we want the absolute best for them. We don’t want them to get hurt, bullied or loose their way. I am with you and I have worried about

The Science

When our boys were born, our son Alec had to spend a few days in the NICU. During his stay, I found out something about the process of care for babies. The hospital had a volunteer program called “snugglers.” They are called snugglers because that is exactly what they do, snuggle. They spend hour upon hour picking up babies in the NICU, sitting down in a chair and holding them.

At the time, I thought the practice was a nice hospital amenity, but later I found out the research behind the power of touch in the NICU. “Benefits include stimulation of circulatory and gastrointestinal systems, better weight gain, lesser stress behavior, positive effects on neurological and neuromotor development . . . and improved sleep.” (See Footnote 1)

There is “A growing body of research has uncovered another dimension of touch that

Don't cry over spilled milk! Great advice, usually from parents and when it's not your milk! Accidents happen, and, when they happen again, it's frustrating. I don't know about you but I have let my frustration get the best of my parenting from time to time.

Have you ever been mad at your five-year-old for spilling his or her third glass of milk at dinner or finger painting on the refrigerator with butter or trying to play a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich in

“My quiet, respectful, rule-following little angel has become a rude, pushy, aggressive little tyrant.” Yes, I have heard a parent say that. What happened? The child grew up.

I can remember when I was about seven years old. We had a decent-sized back yard, a swing set, a few trees and a four-and-a-half-foot red-stained fence around the entire yard. The fence was there for a number of reasons but mostly for my mom’s peace of mind and my safety.

If I was in the fenced-in yard, she could run into the house for a minute and come back out without worrying about my behavior too much. The fence around our back yard

If you were to Google ”parents’ values” or ask other parents on Facebook what are the best values to teach our children you will get a list that looks something like this.

1. Humility
2. Respect
3. Kindness
4. Honesty
5. Courage
6. Perseverance
7. Self-discipline
8. Compassion
9. Generosity
10. Dependability

We would agree that’s a good list but a list isn’t the hard part; practicing the list is the hard part. Printing the list and hanging it on the refrigerator is easy. We have done similar things as parents. When a list is visible, it can serve as a reminder and help prompt you to make better, wiser choices, and I understand that.

However, simply memorizing a list