I saw a TV programme the other night about a young single mum who gave her young son an Argos catalogue before Xmas. Guess what? He ‘chose’ a list of toys and she went into debt to buy them. She had to declare the equivalent of bankruptcy after being unable to pay the £600 bill.

So who created her son’s reality? And her’s?  

Forget the material stuff for a moment. What would happen if you dispensed with Newtonian cause-and-effect physics? This 400 year old theory underpins media reality, as does the model of a our bodies as machines.

Suppose we could influence ‘reality’ to a level unimaginable? Just like da Vinci, Galileo, Newton [in his day], Tesla, Einstein and contemporary innovators.

Just exactly what is fixed for ever? Almost nothing. So your reality is co-created with God, the universe, source, or consciousness or whatever you choose to call it.

And what kind of reality do you want? And for your children…

Jack Stewart

If you watch television, you will not fail to have noticed that today’s women are obsessed with how they look, how often they can flick their hair, how high the heels are on their shoes and if they can master about six poses and pouts modelled by Posh Spice and Cheryl Cole.

Indeed do not these two represent the highest pinnacle of acheivement?

And if you get fed up with Cheryl Cole’s face on every vertical urban space, there’s always Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Beyonce.  

 The time is ripe for mothers everywhere to become real role models for daughters. Compassion, kindness, inner strength, resilience, serving others, honesty, down-to-earth, intelligence, grace, patience, humility, love…

Or self-obsession, avarice, greed, falseness and talentless irrelevance?

These may be the rantings of a grumpy old man. But who would you like your girls to emulate…?

Whilst no-one should underestimate the corrupting and corrosive power of the media in all its forms, mothers are the unsung heroes of the next generation. Please use your influence wisely.   

Jack Stewart

Jack Stewart

No, we are talking about deep, lifetime acquired physiological stress. The kind most people are unaware of until they go down with illness, have a serious accident or ‘lose the plot.’

That’s the bad news. The good news is you can let it go. In our first book we gave you a whole range of tools and techniques to do so. When The Coaching Parent Companion comes out, you will find a few more.

Do you have beliefs that limit you? You have [harmful, even traumatic] memories from childhood [and even futher back] that remain in your cells. They need to go.

Before you get your hands on The Coaching Parent Companion, check this out www.successorstress.com. You might find some respite.

Jack Stewart.

By all accounts Moat was a violent thug. But he was a parent. He was a human being and someone’s son. His crimes were unspeakable, but 12 months ago he asked for help. It didn’t happen. If you want macho, watch ‘The Bill.’ In a recent episode, one copper sees another parent hang himself, helps cut him down and he survives. But he had already killed his son. The copper goes to revive him. Later he has a breakdown.  His sergeant brushes off his own father’s death as if it were a fly.

These last two cases were fiction. And maybe the macho posturing will be shot down in future episodes.

Macho, insensitive, alpha male, sexist programming is garbage. It doesn’t work. It makes the macho man even worse in later life. It closes him down and can make him ill. Or in extreme cases, far worse.

Is your son learning to bury his feelings and build a wall around him? Are you digging a moat?  Show him a better way.

Jack Stewart

The implications of this go far beyond the obvious. Kids are being subtly told [and blatantly in some cases] that adults can’t be trusted. And kids who decide they want to pursue a career working with kids, that they too are under suspicion.

The world is full of fear-laden policies and tactics which undermine parenting. However, let us celebrate when the government gets it right. 

Jack Stewart

We live in a world of deliberate confusion. One media source will tell you a substance/product/food/activity is good for kids, another the opposite. This is another reason to be consistent yourself.

Greece is in the news at the moment, and it is accompanied by xenophobic rants about Greeks not paying tax. If you had any time to spare, you would discover through research that people who run the planet don’t pay any tax either. Except we are not talking about a few euros, we are talking billions. 

Much of this is hidden from the public. But be under no illusion. By setting the best example you can, you can put off or deny for ever the day your child is weighed down by the deliberate confusion of the world. You can be the light in the darkness. And as you shine on your child, you will shine on everyone. And sometime soon, confusion and deceit will lift, and your child will be an even greater gift to you, your family and the world.

Jack Stewart.

You let go, you move on.

The only people who want you to spend the rest of your life feeling guilty are doing the same to themselves.

There is nothing of value in continuously beating yourself up. When did any creative solution ever emerge from doom & gloom?

Look around. What are the kids like whose parents are always beating themslves up?  Good role models?

Shut down the scapegoat factory, forgive yourself. Set the best example.

Jack Stewart

That’s Just the Way It Is

Some things will never change

That’s Just the Way It Is

But don’t you believe them….

 When I was young, long before 1986, my parents let me have a lot of freedom compared to today’s kids. Like every other kid, I made mistakes, got into scrapes, broke the odd bone, and acquired the odd trauma and beliefs I would need in later life to release.

 Did you know that the number of passengers using UK airport terminals rose to 241 million in 2007. This compares to 7 million in 1957.

 Have you ever had an X-Ray? Doesn’t the radiologist stand behind a screen to protect themselves from the rays? What does that suggest to you?

My local airport has introduced ‘scanners’. They use X-rays. The operator stands behind a screen. To protect your privacy? To protect themselves from the X-rays perhaps? Not everyone has to go through them. But if you are spotted travelling whilst Asian, look a bit shifty, or are anxious at airports, you might have to be ‘screened.’ It’s your choice of course, but if you refuse, you won’t be able to fly.

Our generation, and our children’s generation, are on the brink of leaving an irreversible legacy for the next generation. We are a nation of suspects.

Does your child, or grandchild, need a tag or chip to protect them from the invisible army of ‘bogey men’? Why bother with a cumbersome tag, why not have your baby ‘chipped’ from birth. S/he won’t need the X-rays, can avoid the long queues and be continuously monitored by ‘the authorities’ if they fit the profile.

 Remember Tony Blair? Whether you agree with him or not, he told lies. Don’t all governments tell lies?

 Some things will never change. That’s Just the Way It Is.

Will you let your child believe them?

Jack Stewart