Mike Miller, an HR executive, raised three children largely on his own and is now a grandfather. Mike joins host Jeff Hittner to share what actually stuck as his kids grew into adults, from moving across the country after loss to rethinking how he parented once they hit their teens.
Mike also gets candid about defining success for each child individually, why the behavior you reward gets repeated, and how he stays close to adult kids whose politics differ from his own.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[00:00] Normal is whatever you build, and a nontraditional family can thrive just as well as the one next door.
[09:00] Borrowing good examples and parenting by opposite example can fill the gaps when your own parents weren’t able to.
[10:00] The behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated, a simple mantra that still guides his parenting decades later.
[17:00] Kids learn from the whole person, including how you treat colleagues, not just the voice you save for them.
[22:00] Pausing on your definition of success makes room for each child’s own passion, from nursing to country music.
[29:00] Teens need bullet points, not the full lecture: let them talk it out, then help put their thoughts in order.
[35:00] Kids raised to think for themselves may land far from your politics, so lead with what you share.
Listen to the full episode for Mike’s take on giving yourself grace, adapting as your kids grow, and why he’d play a little more and pick up a little less.
RESOURCES
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