Integrity, Accountability and Communication Here is a link to my interview on CNN yesterday with Fredricka Whitfield CNN. My HLN interview will air tomorrow, and was a very spirited discussion. Let me say at this point that in my interview we talked about evolution in parenting. I commented that we evolved 2000 years ago and referenced the misuse of the phrase Spare the rod and spoil the child. This phrase was derived from a Proverbs, a book in the Torah or Old Testament. In that discussion, I stated that 2000 years ago the world evolved, eluding to the birth of Christ, who never taught about using physical punishment, but instead taught to do unto others as you would have them do unto you and love thy neighbor, among other nonviolent approaches to deal with life events. In my statement, my intention was to state that Christians would often posit that the world evolved 2000 years ago. In making this statement, I realized in my own debrief after the interview that I should have been clear about this. To further that, I received a wonderful email from a viewer of the Jewish faith, who wanted to correct my statement and sent me a great article on the discussion of the passage I referenced in Proverbs. In my response to them, I acknowledged my misstatement and unintentional disrespect of her faith. The main intention of my comment was to help people to see that we often pick and choose what we want to justify our actions, and while most Christians refer to the New Testament as their book of guidance, we may find other passages or world views to justify our actions, rather than seek a higher level of growth. Years ago, the WWJD bracelets were very popular, and many kids were wearing them. All that I would ask you as a parent is, What would Jesus do if he was faced with these choices when it came to your childs behavior? There are so many other options of behavioral management out there that can be employed that do not involve physical punishment, and they teach respect for all. Before I do many of my interviews, I do research and prepare my talking points. For me, this process may take a few hours, because I want to make sure that the information I give is accurate and I review information to make sure I have my points straight. I go over the possible questions in my head, and sometimes producers will send me possible questions that may be asked. The difficulties of doing live interviews is that there is often a large amount of information that is called on when asked a question and very little time to answer the question. I do my best to provide an accurate and respectful answer, and know that there will be times that I may ruffle some feathers. When I may make a mistake I do my best to correct and clarify. Some of you may be reading all of this and be thinking, Whats the big deal? Well the big deal to me is integrity, accountability and communication. That is important to me, and I always want to be improving. I think that too many times people put things out there and let the chips fall where they may, just as some people may parent their child. Modeling is very important to me, and walking my talk is important, so with that, I take responsibility for my misstatement. Isnt that an important part of parenting as well? All in all, I hope that we all can pursue a higher level of behavioral management with our children and teach them a love-based respect. After all, they deserve our best. youtu.be/aGpm8Oy-UIU
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 13:59:00 +0000
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