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Tips and Tricks from the Tonkavic's and Stockdale's
Tonkavic Family
Momma T’s Top 5 Tips for Raising as Aspiring Rapper by Laurie Tonkavic- Don’t censor his music, he needs to express himself.
- Help your child with buying the equipment he needs to perform and record his music.
- Always allow him to play his music in the house.
- Don’t allow people to stereotype rappers and understand they have a lot of talent.
- As long as my son tries as hard as he can in school, whatever grade he gets is fine with me.
- Make sure the fridge is always stocked with food because boys are always hungry.
- Always keep the doors unlocked so people know they are welcome all the time.
- Be sure to have a pool table and games around so they are entertained.
- I like to join the party! Dance with the kids! If you can’t beat them join them.
- Have open conversations with the about all aspects of life. (Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll).
Stockdale Family
Stockdale’s Top 5 Tips on Raising a Moral Kid in a Modern WorldIf you are a less than perfect parent like me, the below strategies will make raising Moral Kids in a Modern World achievable.
- Move to the countryside. City life can overwhelm morality. How committed are you to raising moral children? Country life reduces many negative influences and distractions and is a great resource for productive activities and projects. Don’t oversupply your child’s needs. Let him feel need and then achieve the satisfaction of accomplishment himself. Achievement answers the question, “Am I good enough?”
- Be a moral example to your children. Jesus Christ is my Guide. Who is yours? Who will be your child’s guide? Television? Peers? Violent video games? Negative music?
- Have a strong belief system and share it with your children daily. We are Christians with a “back to the land” mindset. No frankenfood here; only real food for real people. Technology’s place is as servant, not master. There is more with less.
- li>Choose a lifestyle that will allow children to spend most of their time with the family. Work together, sing together, pray together, eat together, play together. Quality time cannot be manufactured upon demand, the best teaching moments are found while spending large amounts of time TOGETHER.
- Expect moral behavior from your children. We post the 10 Commandments at home and try to consistently reinforce them until our children internalize them so they become their guide, too.
- Start young by including music as a part of family culture. Use songs to teach, to organize routines of the day like naptime, clean up time, a bath. Sing for pure fun. The practice helps children to learn to sing in pitch. What is your "theme song" as a mother? Something a child can carry for peace, security, a reminder of your love when away from home. Keep a regular family music night. Our children exuberantly enjoyed singing and playing rhythm instruments with Mom and Dad!
- Selectively choose your family’s music sources. Listen to public radio or internet acoustic traditional and bluegrass music shows. We eliminated all pop music radio by choice. We preselected music recordings and special radio shows that supported our music values. Today our whole family enjoys musical unity, which brings us great joy in home and out!
- Be a music advocate in your children’s education and school. Parental encouragement and support can be very influential in building a peer group of music loving children and young people. This is often a neglected area of the school curriculum. Learn more and make it better! Form a Bluegrass/Old Time music club at your school or in your community. For examples of bluegrass clubs see http://www.ibma.org/events.programs/schools/manual/index.asp Attend local jam sessions. These are great for short term goal setting and tangible motivation for during-the-week practice. Playing music with others supports ear training. Jam sessions promote making friends and connections with others interested in traditional music! Attend local square/contra dances. They are kid friendly and a fun introduction to traditional music. Also dance is important for learning musical rhythm!
- Avoid the parent motivated Child Star syndrome. Do not make individual or band performance a primary goal of music. Enjoy the process of learning and playing music, rather than pushing for the prize. Take normal performance opportunities like recitals and playing for grandparents, but do not overemphasize. The key to long term success is to let children take the lead in the bigger steps like contests and big performances. Be supportive!