Can Parents Get in the Zone?

Family First VoiceAmerica™

Athletes have their zone, writers have their flow, children have their play – are these related? Is there a zone for parents? What if parents could parent from a place of self-less absorption and complete engagement in the moment? Could they tap into an intelligence much deeper than any book, expert, or training could provide? My guest this week on Family First is Michael Mendizza, author of Magical Parent-Magical Child, the Art of Joyful Parenting, with Joseph Chilton Pearce. Michael’s work helps adults rediscover the "playful" and "childlike" genius of their own innate intelligence, as they guide, learn from and mentor children, which results in a radically different learning environment for children, transforming both child and parent and creating what Michael calls the Optimum Learning Relationship. Michael will share valuable insights from his 25 years of personal relationships with scientists, authors, visionary educators and athletes and his more than 100 taped interviews with them, now online.

Family First is broadcast live on Fridays at 4 PM ET, 3 PM CT, 2 PM MT, and 1 PM PT, and then it is also archived for listening any time, or for download, podcast, RSS, MP3, apps, and embedding in any website or social network. Clikc on the link above, or go to the specific show page at: http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/60192/can-parents-get-in-the-zone.

Michael Mendizza is an author, educator, documentary filmmaker and founder of Touch the Future, a nonprofit learning design center. Michael is preparing two additional books; Kids Are Not The Problem, a series of essays on parenting the next critical generation, and Flowering, a collection of dramatic floral images and quotes by Krishnamurti. Inspiration for his work emerged from his own experience as a father and personal relationships with Pearce, physicist David Bohm, philosopher J. Krishnamurti, and many others. If being in an optimum state is important to professional athletes, imagine what this could mean to parents, childcare providers, educators, coaches and the children they love. Michael writes and speaks internationally on many topics, including the Next Frontier in Education, The Intelligence of Play, Media and the Brain, Corporate Exploitation of Children, The Brave New World of Un-Schooling, The Childlike Mind, Rational Imagination, and Raising Children in a Sport-Crazed Culture.

Listen in to hear Michael Mendizza's valluable insights on parenting. Listen in Friday, at 4 PM ET or 1 PM PT or any time afterwards, at http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/60192/can-parents-get-in-the-zone.


Randy Rolfe's Take Home Tips: As Plato said, we all know what we need to know already, education is simply the process of bringing our inner intelligence into our consciousness so that we can act on it. it is the same with parenting. Don't let all the would be experts pull you away from your nurturing instincts about how to love and support your child. Parenting is fun and is meant to be rewarding every day. If your child knows you feel that way, he or she will respond accordingly and enjoy being a child and looking forward to growing up to be like you!