Seasons and Reasons: A Parent's Guide to Cultivating Great Kids

The highs, lows, successes, and failures of every parent's journey as they play the part of Tour Guide for their kids on this great adventure called Life.

Seasons and Reasons provides parenting inspiration and tips from Debra E. Ross, publisher of KidsOutAndAbout.com.

In her 14 years as KidsOutAndAbout's publisher, Ross's mission has been to help parents become their child’s tour guide on this adventure called life. Seasons and Reasons shares her parenting philosophy and tips for cultivating a thrill of lifelong learning and discovery.

Seasons and Reasons is full of ideas to keep the joy in parenting and family life, and to inspire kids to be creative, healthy, and active out and about in their communities.

--Mr. Steve, PBS Kids

Deb Ross shares parenting inspiration to foster kids’ independence and help them grow into smart, adventurous adults. 

--Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids

Have you ever noticed that we parent by the rhythms of the seasons?

Whether we are out and about with our families or cozying with a pile of kids on the couch, what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch is governed by the season of the year, whether it's the weather, the holidays, or the school calendar. Summer tastes entirely different from winter. The melodies of spring are brighter and spunkier than those of the December holidays. The bright pinks, pale yellows, and blue colors of June give way later in the year to the fiery golds, oranges, and burgundies of fall. The summer's heat makes us want to stick our toes into the nearest stream, while the winter's energizing chill quickens our paces and urges us to accomplish great things. What is available for families to do changes with the rhythms of the year, too: Outdoor festivals blossom in the summer and ripen in the fall, indoor play centers beckon when the weather is burdensome.

What never changes is the unerring direction and pace of kids' growth and development: Up, and fast. We have 18 short years (more or less) in which to nourish and encourage our kids toward the time when they ultimately prune themselves away from the vine and plant their own roots in the world. How do we strike the balance between feeding and flooding, cheering success without making them fear failure, and helping kids celebrate themselves without encouraging a princess attitude? 

Part of the answer is in remembering that really, you're not raising kids: You're raising (you hope) happy, healthy, productive, engaged adults. By keeping focused on the end goals....