6
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
How to build “grit”
By edie Jones
Columnist
Earlier this month we
asked the question, “Are
there helicopter parents in
Sisters?”
Parents are asking:
“How do you avoid falling
into the trap of being over-
protective or rescuing? You
certainly don’t want your
kids to fail and experience
the humiliation and disap-
pointment that comes with
all of that.”
Stepping back and let-
ting our kids work through
problems can be very ben-
eficial. As the popular par-
enting program, “Parenting
With Love and Logic,” by
Jim Fay and Foster Cline
teaches, the earlier you
allow children to have to
deal with consequences the
better. Not turning in home-
work in elementary school
is far less costly than not
turning in an assignment in
high school. And, as we all
know, poor choices in the
teen years can lead to dev-
astating consequences.
Give your toddlers lim-
ited choices. Step back and
see if your third-grader
starts his homework on his
own. Allow your kids to
make mistakes. They will
learn far more from mis-
takes than successes. When
successful we celebrate and
move on; when we make
a mistake we don’t want it
to happen again so we take
time to figure out what went
wrong.
Of course, your kids
may need guidance from
you to complete this pro-
cess. That’s part of the job
of being a parent
This is also the advice
of Joe Hosang, Sisters High
School principal.
By not rescuing, allow-
ing the skills of persever-
ance and “grit” to develop,
parents are helping their
kids move closer to the
life they will experience as
adults. Teach them the skills
they’ll need in real life, giv-
ing enough leash to practice
those skills on their own.
You’ll probably be sur-
prised at how well they do.
What if there are special
needs? Respond as needed
— and that may mean some
adjustments.
I know a mom of a
child diagnosed with
ADHD (Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder).
Her young man can’t pos-
sibly do homework after
a day in school. However,
he’s a very early riser (4
a.m.). Her response is to
rise with him, providing the
right atmosphere for home-
work to be accomplished.
She’s responding as
needed.
Once your child has
learned to do something,
make it a “rule of thumb”
not to do it for them. Of
course, there are times this
isn’t possible (as in, you
have to get out the door
and naked bodies aren’t
appropriate) and you need
to intervene. However, fol-
lowing it most of the time
will save any parent lots
of work in the future. Of
course, a skill you have to
develop to go with that is
patience — something we
need anyway to succeed in
every situation.
Gordon’s Last Touch
Cleaning Specialists For…
541-549-3008
Carpets • Upholstery
Windows
Accepting VISA
& MasterCard!
Snow Removal!
Member of the Better
Business Bureau
Serving Central Oregon Since 1980
Bonded & Insured
Join us!
CRAB
FEED
Sat., , Jan.
J 30th
3
All-you-can-eat buffet... crab, oysters, spaghetti &
meatballs, pasta Alfredo, g garlic bread & red p potatoes.
Begins at 5 p.m.,
call for reservations...
541-549-3663
Too often we parents do
much to keep our kids from
facing challenges, helping
them find an easier solution
to a problem. Carol Dweck,
a Stanford researcher, has
found that children who
avoid challenges display
a fixed mindset: feeling
that their intelligence is a
fixed trait, they avoid chal-
lenges that “stretch” them.
Children who embrace and
take on challenges dem-
onstrate a growth mindset,
appraising their abilities as
something they can change
and develop.
When parents say, “You
put a lot of effort into that
paper,” instead of, “You are
so smart!” they are foster-
ing a growth mindset.
Even though it may be
many years before your
child heads off to college
or are on their own, it is
never too early to begin
teaching the skills they will
need. Chores are a magnifi-
cent teaching tool. Build
them into everyday activi-
ties, beginning with tod-
dlers putting toys away or
elementary-aged children
making their beds, taking
out the trash, and empty-
ing the dishwasher. Middle
school and high school
kids can help younger sib-
lings with homework and
assist with shopping and
meals. And, once you have
a driver, be sure to hand
over many of the time-con-
suming “chores” that make
most parents’ days stressful
and exhausting.
Save your energy so you
can be the cheerful, helpful
mom or dad needed when
you do need to step in.
Bingo draws a big crowd
By Izaak Kanzig
Correspondent
Nearly 250 members
of the Sisters commu-
nity attended a bingo night
at Sisters High School
last Monday, January 11.
Running for over four years
now, Outlaws Together
Bingo Night has become a
classic event for families to
enjoy bingo, a silent auction,
a bake sale, and a high-qual-
ity meal.
The silent auction bas-
kets and prizes are sponsored
by specific sports teams
for the season that bingo
night coincides with. On
Monday, many prize baskets
were sponsored by the boys
and girls basketball teams,
Outlaw wrestling, the alpine
ski team, SHS Cheer, as well
as the small but proud eques-
trian team.
Along with the team
sponsorships, Sisters Coffee
Co., Blazin Saddles, Sisters
Movie House, Bedouin,
Dutch Bros., Martolli’s
Pizza, and many others con-
tribute bingo prizes and auc-
tion items.
Tim Roth, the athletic
director at Sisters High
School, with his ambition
of unifying the teams and
bolstering the spirit of the
photo by izaaK Kanzig
Patrick Krevi fills out a bingo
sheet.
school, began the event when
he started working at SHS in
2012.
Roth stated that the bingo
nights raise nearly $20,000
a year, and that money is
spread over all the athletic
programs at SHS, going
toward travel expenses, pay-
to-play, and coach salaries.
“We will always hold
the philosophical aspect of
working together as a school
just as much as the financial
aspect,” Roth said.
The next bingo night will
be in the spring of this year,
put on by the track, baseball,
and tennis teams.
WE’RE NOT JUST TIRES! We do...
Alignments, Brakes, Shocks, Struts, CV Joints,
U Joints, Axle Shafts, Drivelines, & Tire Siping
...not only cars, but trailers, too!
DAVIS TIRE
541-549-1026
Serving Sisters Since 1962
188 W. Sisters Park Dr. In Sisters Industrial Park across from SnoCap Mini Storage
Year-round
FIREWOOD
SALES
— Kindling —
—
—
SISTERS
FOREST PRODUCTS
541-410-4509
SistersForestProducts.com
Warm up wih
our homemade soup
541-549-0527 • 273 W. Hood Ave.
Breakfast 6-11 | Lunch 11-2 daily | Buy coffee at SistersCoffee.com