Taking Responsibility and Ownership.

One of the main reasons I wanted to buy hopscotch was for my children. To give them a sense of placement in our community. To give them real work to do, a sense of accomplishment and accountability. When I was growing up my parents always owned a business and it made me feel that people knew who I was and what I was supposed to be doing. A little claustrophobic perhaps but I think it ultimately made me a more accountable person. Accountability is something that I stress with my children. I don't teach it as a moral obligation, but as a tool that enables them to take control of any situation. Any bit of an encounter that they can own, they have the ability to change. As long as they are placing blame elsewhere, they are the victim, helpless to do anything to fix the problems, or to ensure that they do not keep occurring. Some people get caught in the victim cycle, but it is not what children want to be. If you can lay it out there for them time and time again that taking responsibility means taking control the responsibility becomes an honor instead of an obligation.