16 Wednesday, February 19, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Commentary... Watch and observe By Edie Jones Columnist In the January 29 issue of The Nugget there were two excellent articles address- ing the concerns of parents as they wade through the difficult job of raising their children. One was Michael Luftig9s commentary on the benefits of strength-based parenting and the other was by Charlie Kanzig as he shared his experience as a school counselor exploring emotional and mental well- ness in kids. Both emphasized the importance of positive involvement by parents in their kids9 daily lives. It is often the case that parents are perplexed and confused as to when to inter- fere in a situation and what they need to do. We hear a lot about allowing kids to make mistakes so a child can ben- efit from the lessons of the situation. I have often shared this philosophy with parents. While I agree with the merit of this approach and encourage it to be used when- ever possible, I also know it9s important for parents to be knowledgeable about what to expect at certain ages and stages and to seek help when they are unclear in what to do. There are times parental intervention is important. Following up on Michael Luftig9s recommendation of looking for the strengths in their child, I applaud the positive note of this tech- nique. It is so easy to spot the areas of irritations in our rela- tionships with our children that we often overlook their strengths. I once had a par- ent say to me,