Kitchen Table Discussions for our Kids and Grandkids- Trust and Servant Leadership

In my previous essay, “Kids and Core Values” (Feb. 23) I presented the challenge facing our children as they grow into adulthood in the coming decades in a chaotic world. I discussed two key core values that they need to understand and implement as guideposts in order to provide sustainable leadership in the world that they will encounter as adults. These values are “Trust” and “Servant Leadership”. In my previous essay, I suggested that, as parents and grandparents, it is our responsibility to provide definition to each value, as well as understanding the elements and developing the ability to exhibit through example and mentoring each value to those around us.

My very wise daughter-in-law read my “Kids  and Core Values” essay and suggested that I create content that suggests more in-depth methods for parents and grandparents to discuss these values within the spaces that naturally occur for conversations between generations. In  response to her suggestion, I will attempt to create “Kitchen Table” conversation outlines that can be used to introduce and explore each value with the intent to elicit conversations, thoughts, examples, and generational mutual understanding. Our kids need for us to  create “safe harbor” in our conversations while they navigate the “What if’s” that may arise in their current world of experiences and as they travel the adulthood path.

By thinking about the approaches that we take with our kids and grands as we discuss “Trust” and “Servant Leadership”, I will offer conversation suggestions for the “Kitchen Table” in the next blogs that I create and post on my website, safeharborpathways.com, as well as on my “Bill Holmes” and my “Safe Harbor Pathways” facebook pages. Our experiences and insight as parents and grandparents are invaluable to our kids as they traverse today’s world of chaotic challenges.

bill@safeharborpathways.com