I often get asked about where parents can find resources to assist them in the journey of raising their kids.  This is going to sound strange, but I think a dog behavior show might be the most valuable resource available.  Seriously.

My family and I love to watch The Dog Whisperer.  Have you seen this show?  It’s a show on National Geographic TV, and it features Cesar Millan showing up to help solve dog problems.  It’s quite a sight to see these disruptive dogs become well-behaved members of the home.  He uses a few different techniques, much of which includes simply taking charge of the dog.  Go figure, huh?  He says he “rehabilitates dogs and trains humans.” I think what he does is super applicable to parents.

He is constantly warning dog owners to not let emotions dictate how you treat your dog.  He always references humans feeling sorry for the dog, and he says that prevents us from dealing with the dog in a dog-appropriate way.  Parents, can you see this coming?  As parents we can easily be swayed to give our children things based out of our guilt, fear, or both at the same time.  While emotions are a valuable part of any relationship, when raising children we need to stay in the clear.  For instance, let’s say your kid steals something from a friend at school.  He’s caught red-handed, and confesses right away.  Do you back off on any consequences because he’s so upset about his own bad choice, or do you make him face that consequence?  I’ve seen parents be so swayed by the emotions of a situation, that they fail to provide a strong covering of discipline for their kids.

The Dog Whisperer also points out that dogs live “in the moment.” They respond to strong leadership and require “rules, boundaries and limitations” to feel secure and part of the “pack.”  I feel that I could exchange the word dogs, with children.  Am I alone? As a person that works with other peoples kids, let me tell you that this is lacking!  I often hear parents say, “My kids are so much better behaved for you than they are for me.”  I’m not casting magical obedience spells on their children, I just treat them like a dog.  That sounds bad, doesn’t it?  I meant to say that I provide strong leadership and require rules, boundaries and limitations.  Does that sound better?

Cesar always begins the show with an observation of the relationship between the dog and their humans. He often finds that the humans are the ones that must learn a different way to handle their pets.  I have three kids, and each kid forces me to parent them in a different way.  While there are certain standards that are the same for every one of them, I also can’t expect the same reaction out of each of them.  For example, my daughter requires more rules than my boys.  For some reason she seems to want to push the envelope on things and the boys just take it as it comes. Different methods for the same overall goal.

While these lessons learned on The Dog Whisperer are great for parents, but I also want to add that the snapping, shushing, and finger pointing can come in handy with kids as well.  I’m just sayin’.

This past Tuesday I had AT&T come out and install U-Verse at the house. I signed up for the TV and Internet package. I’ve heard rumors about U-Verse coming to my area, but mostly things like this in Lubbock are just rumors. Then right before Thanksgiving, I found out that it was a reality. For those of you wondering what U-Verse is:

Uverse is a suite of Internet Protocol (IP)-based products and services , including AT&T U-verse TV, AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet, and AT&T U-verse Voice telephone, (VoIP) service. It’s NOT DSL, it’s NOT traditional phone service, and it’s NOT a dish on your house.

In Lubbock when using a DISH you can’t get local channels in HD and you have to have two dishes on the roof to get all the channels. With the cable company the service is decent, but is way behind on the technology sides of things and is always behind their competitors offerings.

So I made the switch and I love it (famous last words, huh?) The DVR menu is wonderfully organized, and is superior to anything I have ever used. U-Verse also is instant, meaning you can actually channel surf; eliminating the 3-5 second hangup that I always got when selecting a channel with others. The coolest things about U-Verse TV is that I can program my DVR through my computer and even through my mobile device, and it offers 4 inputs of recording so I can record up to 2 HD feeds and 2 SD feeds at the same time. The SD channels are of great quality, and the HD seems to be pretty fantastic as well. I’ve got more for my money with U-Verse than I was getting with my cable company and I got it all for about $10/less a month. (Can you hear the cheap bird? Cheap…cheap…cheap…)

I signed up online, and am expecting $225 in rebates of some sort in the next 2 months. U-Verse also has NO contracts upon sign-up. I’m guessing they’re doing this to encourage people to try out the new technology. So basically I’m on a free two-month trial.

The Internet speeds are what I’m paying for, and that’s about all you can ask for. Right?

The only downside was the 3 week wait for install, and the fact that the DVR remote they gave me won’t turn my new HD television on or off (I’ve found a work-around so it’s not a killer.) If you’re getting one of those shiny new High Definition TV’s for Christmas, then you should really consider U-verse, really!

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• I passed a mobile billboard this morning attached to a semi-truck. It was red with black letters, and said, “Go Tech! Beat OU!” Is it really necessary to advertise who you are rooting for?
• I think every store front in Lubbock says something to the effect of “BEAT OU!” And yes…we even have our regards on the electronic sign in front of the church.
• Thousands of cars in town have GO TECH flags dangling from somewhere…or painted on the windows!
• Who ever sells those full-size Tech flags is making a killing! There are so many homes with Red Raider flags flying, it’s creepy.
• My boys are picking up on the enthusiasm, and I’m not sure how to handle it. Last Sunday my 5 year old Dylan walks into the living room as I’m watching the Dallas Cowboy game; and starts jumping up and down at the sight of football while yelling, “Go Tech! Guns Up Baby!” I’d like to apologize to all my family for this, but I honestly didn’t teach him this at home.
  
• And the best of all appeared on my television screen last Saturday Night. I’m watching a college football game, and the local ABC affiliate pops with this a tag-liner that simply read…“ONLY 168 hours until game time!” It has been counting down for days now. Tonight I expect it to be somewhere around 72 hours.

So as I gather with some Oklahoma-friendly friends on Saturday Night I will be publicly pulling for my Sooners…but somewhere inside of me I’m beginning to pull for my hometown team. I can’t help it. I need therapy. God. Help. Me.

Why Save Mister Rogers Neighborhood?

In June 2008, Public Broadcasting Service announced that it intends to soon change the way Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the beloved children’s television program, is distributed to member stations.

PBS will cease transmitting the program as part of their daily syndicated lineup beginning in September. Instead, PBS will provide member stations with a single Neighborhood episode on weekends. This unfortunate decision essentially silences the special nurturing voice of Mister Rogers in the daily lives of today’s children.

Local public television stations, who make the final decisions about which programs to offer and when to air them, can still opt to broadcast Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood each weekday, but they are much less likely to do so without the program being included in PBS’s syndicated feed.

We’re asking PBS to please reconsider their decision, and allow Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, with its timeless expressions of care for children, to remain a part of their syndicated Monday through Friday schedule.

In the event that PBS stands by their decision, we are urging all PBS member stations to do what it takes to ensure that the lives of children in their neighborhoods can still be enriched each weekday by the gentle, authentic, life-shaping messages of Mister Rogers.

I always see blog postings asking questions like, “Who would you dine with if you could dine with anyone from history?”, or maybe “Which leader do you most look to for inspiration?” There are great answers like, Abraham Lincoln or Napoleon or any other great historical figure.

Well call me strange but I’d love to have known Mr. Rogers. Ask my parents, there was no other man on television that could gain my toddler attention. If everyone lived like Mr. Rogers told us to live this would definitely be a wonderful world to exist in. Am I wrong? Seriously, am I wrong?

In the spirit of this great neighbor read these 15 reasons Mr. Rogers was the best neighbor.