lighthouse parenting: raising your child with loving guidance for a lifelong bond.

In a world of helicopter parents and tiger moms, discover a more balanced alternative--Lighthouse Parenting. Dr. Ken Ginsburg, a leading adolescent health expert, offers an evidence-based parenting action plan that lays the foundation for the kind of relationship in which you will be welcomed as a guide in childhood, throughout adolescence, and beyond. The near-term benefits for your child of building your relationship through Lighthouse Parenting include

• Greater academic success
• Higher levels of emotional well-being
• Increased resilience
• Fewer behavioral risks
• Reduced emotional distress

But, in the long term, following Lighthouse Parenting helps to build emotionally healthy children and adolescents who are more likely to develop deep, enduring relationships with their parents for their entire lifetime. I choose to be a Lighthouse Parent. A stable force on the shoreline from which my child can measure themself against. I’ll send my signals in a way they will choose to trust. I’ll look down at the rocks to be sure they don’t crash against them. I’ll look into the waves and trust they’ll learn to ride them, but I am committed to prepare them to do so. I’ll remain a source of light they can seek whenever they need a safe and secure return.

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MS Ed, FAAP, practices adolescent medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He is the founding director of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication. His books include Congrats-- You’re Having a Teen! and Building Resilience in Children and Teens. He is the father of 2 young adults and lives in Philadelphia, PA.