Parenting Superstar Kids!!!

Thoughts by:  B. Brown (BREG)


Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are no doubt super-talented artists, actors, producers and directors, but how about being the parents of two rising superstar children! How do you balance that?

The article you are about to read below is an interview with Jada, and it discusses the interesting parts of what Jada and Will go through as parents, but also attempting to be objective and allowing their children to grow naturally and make some mistakes on their own.

I agree with Jada on definitely being there for our children, but at the same time allowing them to learn how to make their own decisions and even letting them fail at an early age so that they understand that there is work and development to be done to progress in life.

There are going to be up's and down's in life, but we have to instill fortitude in our children and have Faith that God will protect, guide and strengthen our children in their life journeys.

Article By:  Kelley L. Carter (Jet Mag. - Entertainment Spotlight; June 13, 2011; pg. 36 - 37)
JetMag.com

Nurturing Hollywood royalty comes naturally for Jada Pinkett Smith. The 39 year old actress/producer/director stars in her own TV show (Hawthorne, which starts its third season June 14) and essentially reigns - with husband Will Smith - over one of the most powerful African-American families in show business.

But the couple - especially Jada - has been ripped by critics for stage managing their kids' careers in Hollywood. Some question whether Jaden (star of the hit film Karate Kid) and Willow (the voice behind last fall's breakout hit, "Whip My Hair") have been allowed to do too much too soon.

But Jada is confident that she and Will are more than capable of keeping the young royals in check.

"We're not new at this," Jada states. "I understand the in's and out's and all the complications that come with (this life)," she says. "I've lost people I deeply love in this game and I know how and why."

WHAT JADA HAS TO SAY:

Q: How do you and Will parent?
A: We're courageous. We treat our children like little adults. [When] I came into the world, it was hard. I didn't really have much of a childhood. That might be why I don't know how to relate to my children as children. But people who live in the 'hood understand - that ain't nothing new. When you've got to send your kids out in the world every day, you hope and pray, but you don't have a choice.

Q: Have you ever tried to shield them?
A: You can't. What I do? I trust the Higher One. That's the one thing about motherhood: You learn that you are not in control. Your kids do not belong to you. At the end of the day, I just trust.

Q: Has seeing Jaden's and Willow's early success changed how you operate?
A: Their success makes me understand how close I need to be with them. I need to be by their side. Power attracts nonsense. With the type of success they have, there could be a lot of nonsense around them, but there is not because both are shielded by not just me but Jay-Z, Beyonce, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez - good friends, people who love them. I have a village.

Q: Did it trip you out to see how Willow was received when "Whip My Hair" came out?
A: Will went to the club with Jay-Z. - He came home and said, 'Whip My Hair came on, and do you know what it feels like to hear your 10 year old daughter in the club? Jokers straight getting busy to your 10 year old daughter?' He said it was surreal.

Q: Because she's a girl, do you parent Willow differently?
A: What I do is let it be. What Will does is let it be. What her Village does is let it be. We didn't go, 'no, no, don't do that, quiet that down.' Live! You know? She's gonna have her challenges, we all do. People think that a perfect child is a child that doesn't make mistakes. I look at the Britney Spearses, the Lindsay Lohans and all these poor young women out here who are going through it and, you know what, that's part of it. Some of us survive, some of us don't. If I had a magnifying glass on me when I was their age ... Those chicks ain't doing half the stuff I was doing. If it's meant to be, my kids are gonna be OK. At the end of the day, some of us make it and some of us don't, and that's life.

The Parent Coordinator in Schools

Thoughts by: B. Brown

I have been a long-time supporter of the Parent Coordinator/Liaison position. It is a very important position that is taken lightly in most school systems from my perspective. Here in the Metro Atlanta, GA area, I've just gotten word that one school system is about to do away with their Parent Liaison position. It is a shame!

If utilized properly, this position could be the ultimate connection to getting parents back involved in schools and education which usually leads to outstanding student achievement!

In my eight (8) years of being in education, I always shared my opinion that if we really wanted to improve our schools, then the money and our efforts would have to go into helping the parents. If the parent receives help, the children usually automatically receive help. There is a positive chain reaction that starts and it is beautiful. Here's the chain --- Involved Parent - Child/Student with expectations (discipline/achievement) - Outstanding Schools (behavior wise/achievement wise).

When parents send their children to school to learn and to achieve, it is a different environment at school. I believe that loving, teaching and disciplining our children leads to expectations of greatness!!! Our parents and schools must get back to these basic fundamentals so that we do not continue to see the decay of our public schools in America.

Let's not be afraid to do what we need to do because of a dollar, political reasons or whatever! Let's help our young people achieve greatness!!!

The Parent Coordinator position can help us bridge the gap.

A Day in the Life of a Parent Coordinator...

Gladys Mendez is boosting student achievement—by reaching out to parents.

Communities and families play a critical role in raising student achievement—that's something research shows, but it's not easy, is it?
To get meaningful parent support, try taking a few lessons from Gladys Mendez, the parent coordinator at Thirteenth and Green Elementary School in Reading, Pennsylvania.

1. She started a "Coat" drive so that students would have a warm jacket to where to get to school in the first place.

2. She started a continuous "Food" drive so that students and families have something to eat at home. If a student is hungry, they are not concentrated on any school work. They want to eat!

3. Language Barrier - Mendez reaches out to her Latino and Hispanic population to help the understand what is actually going on with their children and the school.

4. Like back in the day, Mendez does "Home Visits" to see why students may have long absences from school. This shows that there is a least one person at the school that cares about the family and the student on a personal level. That's where we are as a society now. We cannot discount the social part of our lives being integrated into the school part of our lives.


*I tip my hat to you Gladys Mendez!!!!!!!

Checkout her video by clicking on this link Parent Coordinator

Is Technology helping our children be totally out of pocket?

By: B. Brown (BREG)

There was a story that was aired here in Atlanta, GA last week that highlighted some Douglasville, GA middle or high school aged children that went to their Facebook pages and put some very harmful information on there about one of their teachers. They said that he was a pedophile!

In this situation, the teacher was not a pedophile, but look at the tremendous damage that was done to this man.

When the students were interviewed, one young lady said that she did it because she was mad at the teacher. This behavior and action is totally unacceptable!

She and the other students are up for expulsion and I am absolutely for the expulsion.

We as adults must hold our children accountable for their actions at a very young age because they can easily grow up with a flawed sense of reality and actually believe that there are no consequences for their actions. I've met several young people that have no sense of responsibility and it is affecting their lives everyday.

Let's work with our school systems to put back in place Prayer and Discipline. Parents, let's stop letting TV's and Computers raise our children. Discipline starts at home with home training, and if we can get back to these principles, maybe we can help more young people develop into great adults because they come to school to actually learn and become better people!

One Love!

Our Youth Need & Want Direction From Us --- The Adults!

Thoughts By: B. Brown (BREG)

When our young people "act out" and/or "act up," they are usually seeking attention and love! A simple "hello" or "how are you doing?" can change a young person's day around in a heartbeat. As adults, we must give direction to our own children and all the young people that we encounter. I kind word and a smile will go a long way! Try it for a day. Smile and offer a kind word to adults and young people alike and see the response that receive!

Let's lead our young people in the right direction!!!

Jay-Z's lyrics from his song "Regrets" (Reasonable Doubt Album, 1996) hits the point of young people needing and wanting guidance .......

"You used to hold me, told me that I was the best/Anything in this world I want I could possess/All that made me want is all that I could get/In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets ..."

Jay-Z's insight on the lyrics above (from his book DECODED).

"This is another example of how something seemingly innocent can take a turn. My mother's love and belief in me made me think that I could have anything I wanted in this world, but without direction that ambition led me into situations I wasn't ready for and decisions that I'd have to live with for the rest of my life. Here I tried to capture in a few words that turn from an innocent kid absorbing his mother's love to a young man old before his time burdened with unspeakable regrets."

All Young People Are Creative!

*By B. Brown (BREG)

I would like to introduce you to my good friend Hotep and his business partner Mike Johnson. I've had the pleasure of having Hotep present to youth groups that I have been involved with in the past, and he has always delivered positive messages! I have even used his book THE HUSTLER'S 10 COMMANDMENTS in my lecture series to youth.

Checkout what Hotep and Mike are doing with their Creative Literacy Workshop Series!

All young people are creative. They express their creative genius in a variety of ways. Our youth are imaginative writers, talented artists, gifted speakers, lovely singers, hilarious comedians, amazing visionaries, great actors, exceptional dancers and brilliant poets.

Show them how to use their talents!

Hotep and Mike's hands-on workshops teach standards based on language arts skills and show youth how the lessons they are learning in the classroom are used in the real-world to write books, comics, music albums, movies, video games and more to create wealth!

Watch your children's grades, attitudes and imaginations soar!

Visit ARTISTS AND AUTHORS


One Love!

Meet The Parents - - - Jay-Z

*Thoughts by B. Brown (BREG)

I believe when someone is dealing with a young person in a situation that is good or bad, once you meet the parents, you will have a better understanding of why the kids conduct themselves the way that they do.

We as parents must be there for our children physically, so that they can literally feel us. We must be there for them emotionally, so that we may help them develop into outstanding adults. Our presence alone will help them achieve certain milestones in their lives.

Jay-Z's song "Meet The Parents" is a great story song from his album the Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse album. Checkout Jay-Z's breakdown of his song:

....... And the title to the song has dual meanings, too. The song is about a son meeting one of his parents, but it's also a more general introduction to the listner: It's impossible to understand this generation of kids, the hip-hop generation, till you meet the parents ... (*From Jay-Z's book DECODED; pg. 211)

Time to Take a Stand

*Thoughts from B. Brown:

As you have read me blog or speak about in person before, we must improve our supervision and communication with our children. As parents and adults, we cannot be the last one's to know about our children being bullied and harassed, and we also don't want to miss or ignore the fact that our child could be the bully! We must be involved in our children's daily activities and school life. Our presence must be felt in the school systems by attending PTA Meetings regularly and other school events. Building relationships with our children's teacher's and administration is key to catching issues at the very beginning and resolving the issue as soon as possible.

Dr. Steve Perry (Essence Magazine; Feb. 2011; pg. 58)

I believe that bullying has increased in the Black community because we've developed a perculiar comfort level with violence among our teens. We party to songs that have the most violent language directed at Black people this side of the antebellum Ku Klux Klan. So is there any surprise our children would take to bullying their classmates? Parents have brought me e-mails and Facebook messages authored by sixth graders that are the vilest and most horrible statements I have ever read or heard. These little e-mail gangsters are using words to rip through their classmates. This is a true sign that the baton of self-hate has been passed to the next generation.

To read more, visit: http://www.essence.com