By taking an unconventional parenting path, Latter-day Saints Gabriel and Ben Blair learned to go against conventional parenting norms and, in the process, eliminated much of the stress that comes with raising children.
As parents, you may have experienced the following concerns.
• “We can’t afford to send our kids to private elementary, middle, and high schools. Does that mean they have to settle for a neighborhood public school with a poor reputation?”
or:
• “Well, my daughter plays basketball, our youngest is in Little League, and our oldest is taking gymnastics and some makeup classes. So this summer… I guess that means I can’t go on a family trip.”
or:
• “Our son is dangerously behind in his grades. It’s impossible for him to get his GPA in time for his college applications. Heck, he’s even talking about dropping out. Him and I I think we can kiss goodbye to an Ivy League education and, if we’re lucky, look at a community college instead.
or:
• “I’ve been looking into my daughter’s college classes, and honestly, I can see that there is a career in every choice she makes. Yes, her grades are great, but how will she get a job?”
And it’s a big deal for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and parents of other faiths.
• “My child left the church.”
Do any of these pressures sound familiar?
They say the same goes for the Blairs, who stress that the good news is that families – parents and children – can be happy and successful in all of these scenarios. (For example, they emphasize that public schools can be great; community colleges are amazing bargains; and career options continue to change and evolve rapidly.)
They explain all that and more in their new book, The Kids Are All Right: Parenting With Confidence In an Uncertain World.
This week on the show, Gabrielle Blair, founder of Design Mom and author of the New York Times bestseller “Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion,” and co-founder of New Lane University Professor and Principal Ben Blair discusses their ideas. What I discovered on my parent-child trip.
Listen to the podcast:
Editor’s Note • This article is available only to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers. Thank you for supporting local journalism.