Asking for and bestowing forgiveness are critical skill sets that your children will require as they navigate the challenges that come with human interaction. If your children learn to be comfortable with both sides of the forgiveness coin, they will be happier and healthier adults who will be more likely to pursue their dreams and self-actualize.

Parenting is so much more than friendship. It is a responsibility to do what is right for the child, even when it means sacrificing ourselves or getting the cold-shoulder for a time.

Join us for an audio discussion about creating healthy relationships with your children on this episode of "Focus Fox Valley" with Haley Tenpas.

Young women in today’s world have many options available to them – they can literally be anything they want to be. As you weigh your options and pursue your dreams, consider motherhood as part of that path. You can create life and love in the process.

For those of us with kids still in the home, or still looking to us for insight and support, we must take the time to decide what type of lives we hope for our children, and then parent in a way that will make that life a possibility for them. We must parent today with that end-goal in mind. We must focus on the long-game and not get distracted by the pressures and influences of the popular culture.

We are not talking about a New Year’s resolution here. This is not a question of denying our humanity and overcoming our human desires / weaknesses. This is a matter of setting your mind right, so that you can become fully human and fully alive. Our negative thoughts, self-doubt and our low expectations are the only barriers preventing us from accomplishing our goals.