Parenting

Parent from the Heart

“The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.” 
– O. A. Battista 

Studies show that a strong, open relationship with a parent is the best deterrent to risky behaviors like underage drinking and drug use. 

But how do you create and maintain that relationship? By having heart-to-heart conversations, creating values as a family, and understanding your own parenting style

Talk Heart-to-Heart with Your Kids

Talking and relating to kids can be difficult, especially as they get older. They are simply figuring out who they are in the world.    

One thing you can do is have heart-to-heart conversations with them — full of empathy, patience, and love.  

Learn how to create the space to talk heart-to-heart today. 

Create Your Family’s Values

When your kids are young, it can be easy to teach them right from wrong. But oftentimes, those lessons fade over time.  

When you sit down and create your family’s values together, it sets the tone for your family and how you will approach topics like alcohol and drugs, beliefs and faith, and bettering the community.  

Learn how to create your family’s good stuff list today. 

Find Your Parenting Style

Everyone goes about parenting in their own way, and it may even evolve as your kids get older. 

Over 30 years ago, psychologists identified four basic styles of parenting: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved.  

The authoritative style, also called heart-to-heart, has been shown to be very effective in reducing risky behaviors. 

Find out which parenting style you have and learn how to adopt a heart-to-heart style today. 

Tips, Tools & Resources

Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL) provides support for parents of adult children facing substance use disorders.

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When the whole family is involved in planning fun activities, you’ll have more opportunities to experience special moments.

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Do you find yourself feeling guilty when it comes to your kids? Maybe there’s a little voice in the back of your mind telling you that you are not enough. The most important thing to remember is you’re not alone in feeling this way and you most certainly don’t have to accept the feelings of mom guilt.

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This parenting style is characterized by an overall lack of love and supervision. Teens raised by uninvolved parents are four times more likely to participate in heavy drinking.

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This parenting style is often characterized by low expectations and little discipline. Teens raised with the permissive parenting style are three times more likely to participate in heavy drinking.

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This parenting style is often characterized by harsh, punitive parenting methods. Teens raised with the authoritarian parenting style are twice as likely to participate in heavy drinking.

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Authoritative parents show high levels of warmth, encourage frequent and honest two-way communication, exercise control and fair discipline and set clear boundaries.

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While there isn’t a magic wand to remove all the stress from parenting or give us extra hours for ourselves, there is a small thing that may have a big impact: Parenting affirmations.

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Strong families give children a safe, secure place to be themselves and learn about who they are. Because children in strong families feel secure and loved…

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Family values are the bedrock of parenting. Think of them as a guide for the kind of people you want to be and the kind of life you want to live. Learn a few more family values to incorporate here.

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Some conversations are tougher than others, here are some real-life examples…

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“Preparation is the key to success” applies to heart-to-heart conversations. Use this free downloadable worksheet to…

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Sleep is very important to your child’s health and well-being. In fact, good sleep habits start from birth. Learn how much sleep your kid should be getting based on their age.

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Join us on Wednesday nights at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom! This grandparent support group is open to all people who are giving parenting a “second time.” 

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Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. Practice overcoming negative self-talk with examples provided.

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When and where you choose to have conversations with your children matters…

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The influence parents have on their children matters more than you’d think…

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Traditions bring families closer together, help teach kids about building relationships and model the values of kindness and caring for others…

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Bullying is, unfortunately, a common occurrence for young people. Don’t ignore it…

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“When simply watching someone makes your heart feel as if it could explode right out of your chest, you really should let that person know…

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Parents must take care of themselves in order to benefit their own families. Child Mind Institute shares a few self-care practices you can do as a parent like prioritizing healthy choices and reconnecting with things you enjoy…

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Parents! Here’s a list of ideas of how to entertain your kid while social distancing at home.

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Are you parenting in the right way…

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Children learn from the behavior of their parents everyday, even when it comes to how they handle challenges…

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Looking for the right thing to say?

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Trying to talk to a child that won’t listen to you can be frustrating…

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The wave of emotions kids bring may take you by surprise, leaving you unsure of how to react.

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Nebraska Needs You is a community-wide social media campaign focused on promoting hope, resilience and connectedness among rural youth in Nebraska

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Children need more than their parents and friends to talk to about the important things in life…

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Here’s 10 ways that you can engage and relationship build with your kids!

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Struggling with how to talk to your teen?

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A strong, open relationship with a parent is one of the most important factors of healthy child …

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June Jam focuses on promoting a healthy lifestyle by making safe choices and choosing to not use drugs or alcohol.

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It’s time to talk about the dangers of underage drinking.

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Nearly 90 percent of mothers feel guilty but it can be conquered and this …

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This article from the Mayo Clinic helps parents understand the skills they need to help guide …

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CenterPointe helps the people they serve get better, sooner, for longer.

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This video explains the mission behind LOSS and who they serve.

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HOPE Squads are peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs. Student members of the squads …

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The widespread legalization of marijuana is causing confusion about its effects on the human body …

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This blog contains a seven links to different parent-focused and kid-focused resources …

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The Nebraska Family Helpline is a free resource for parents with kids of all ages, who have any type of …

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Find out what you need to know about Heart-to-Heart parenting in this downloadable brochure.

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Four downloadable Heart-to-Heart posters.

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The 7 keys to Heart-to-Heart parenting.

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This blog from Doing Good Together holds a downloadable PDF with 29 big-hearted questions …

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The four basic styles of parenting reflect a different way of relating and communicating with your kids …

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Grit. In this TED Talk video, a psychologist explains how the ability to fail, be wrong and start over …

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About 30 years ago, psychologists identified four basic styles of parenting …

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