CHILDREN

Thoughts from ADVANTAGE RANCH Executive Director, Deb Dyer

I remember when I was a child that my mother said to us that her job was not to make us happy, it was to make us good citizens. Fortunately parenting is one of those activities that gets passed from generation to generation so my perspective is pretty much like my mother’s. I understand that a child’s happiness is the result of their being secure within the family, understanding the expectations we have for them and behaving in a responsible manner. This process helps children define who they are.

I believe that the primary responsibility of parenting is to provide our children with the survival skills they need to make it in today’s world. These skills include

knowing when you’re safe and when you’re not
communicating well by both speaking clearly and listening carefully
observing your world and gathering information
developing problem solving skills
being a good neighbor and caring community member
having a good work ethic
following through on commitments
taking responsibility for your actions
evaluating your performance
learning to compete, how to handle wins and losses
sharing with others

These are the stepping stones to what my mother called good citizenship. These are the gifts we must give our children. These are the goals that the ADVANTAGE RANCH program for student children seeks to meet in every community based center that offers Equine Interactive Counseling™.

I am a parent. I understand that the parent job is the most difficult, and most rewarding job in the world. I also understand that there are times that a parent cannot help their own child. This is when the parent job is the most heartbreaking one in the world. This is the void that counseling can fill.

Counselors are not parent substitutes. They are a valuable part of the safety net every parent should build for their child. They are trained, caring adults who listen and interact with your child without the encumbrance of emotional attachments. They are the magicians that help a child who has lost track of their survival skills get back on board.

ADVANTAGE RANCH Coaches are paraprofessionals in the counseling field. They perform a particular service using the wonderful and unique natural bonds that exist between horses and children. Coaches work as part of a team with parents and certified/licensed counseling professionals in the application of Equine Interactive Counseling™. This team concept is dedicated to improving the lives of children by building life’s survival skills and in so doing helping children turn their present reality into dreams that become their future.

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