How cultural shifts are hurting kids and setting them up for failure

Contact: Don Otis, 719-275-7775 

HAYDEN, Idaho, Sept. 21, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- Recent studies suggest that raising successful children should focus on socioeconomic and educational aspects. What the studies miss is the importance of passing along spiritual and moral values. Certainly teaching children social and academic skills are vital says author and blogger, Krista Gilbert. But she explains we are missing what these children do once they are outside the home – how they treat others, kindness, honesty, work ethic, self-control and other core values that produce successful adults.

In Reclaiming Home: A Family's Guide for Life, Love & Legacy, Gilbert produces her own tried and tested list. "We know what we want, but life and culture moves fast and furious and we're not sure how to carve time for a solid family life in the midst of such a pace." She suggests parents often capitulate to the culture instead of deciding what kind of home and children they want to produce. "Contemporary culture falls short in many areas, especially when it comes to cultivating relationships and honing the skills that were building blocks in past generations," says Gilbert.

Gilbert encourages parents to take back their homes and develop what she calls a rooted lifestyle. "This means going against the grain of our media-obsessed, fast-food, activity-driven, consumer-oriented, spiritually void culture," says Gilbert.  "This means putting small routines and habits into practice which in turn make a huge difference. Small, daily decisions matter."

The focus on Reclaiming Home begins with foundational principles which include moral values – the place where solid family is built. After that she encourages us to reclaim time, marriage, childhood, play, traditions, legacy and faith. But she also suggests the importance of faith, family meals and the ordinary. The principles for reclaiming home include love, acceptance, communication, play and presence. "We often fail to see that little movements in our lives propel us in a certain direction . . .  bit by bit toward a goal," she explains.

While Gilbert admits that she tends toward idealism, she says she starts by focusing on the kind of family and children she wants – deciding beforehand. This begins with deciding on goals and working toward them – looking for opportunities to reinforce these daily.

To schedule an interview with Krista Gilbert contact Don Otis at 719.275.7775.