By Renee Martinez, Founder of Raising Boys World
We were planning on staying home yesterday. Sleep in, snuggle up, and only one activity out of the house. We needed to catch up on some relaxing. Our Cub Scout pack was going on a hike and we thought, due to the weather report (rain and possible flurries), that it might be wet, end up indoors, or be canceled altogether. What a pleasure when we woke up to beautiful spring air and sunshine. We decided to go on a hike with the pack. We had lunch together outside and saw the first signs of spring. Hurray!!
You’d think the boys would be psyched to go on a hike and get outside on a beautiful day, but they actually whined. “I want to do something else” complained the lot. Of course, we went anyway and they had a blast. It was the perfect day for a little outdoor adventure. Everyone agreed, we should do it again soon. In fact, they didn’t want to leave (of course). All the scouts had fun too. It was a nice change and a good start to a new season.
I think structure is great. It creates order for your child, especially with boys. It helps them understand what’s expected of them.
Having said that, spontaneity offers a a good lesson for your child as well. It’s important for children to be able to adapt to unexpected situations. In life, we need to be flexible and expect the unexpected. It’s really a difficult balance we manage. Children brought up by parents unwilling or able to deviate from structure are said to have a more difficult time in life.
About the Author: Renee Martinez consults and speaks professionally on social media marketing, integrated marketing communications, public relations and branding. She is the president of Ruby Marketing Communications (www.rubymarcom.com), a boutique marketing communications company that specializes in providing branding, social media strategy and integration, and creative services. Her blog (www.lisac95.sg-host.com), provides resources on everything marketing and social media for her active audience.
Renee has contributed as a featured monthly columnist in the monthly jewelry industry publication, JCK, on matters related to internet marketing as well as in InStore Magazine as a featured blogger where she writes about developing effective marketing strategies for the jewelry industry using social media. She is the founder of: Social Media Biz Summit (www.socialmediabizsummit.com), the first large-scale SM conference to come to Buffalo, NY; #jewelrychat, a weekly twitter chat for the jewelry industry and www.RaisingBoysWorld.com. Renee teaches social marketing courses at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY for the business school as well as offers small group social media marketing training and educational seminars for businesses in Western New York and beyond.
Renee has dabbled in the internet marketing arena since the early 90′s and is not ashamed to call herself a “marketing geek”. From chatting in AOL, “sharing” music on Napster, and teaching HTML classes before it was considered “cool” to developing comprehensive social media strategies, effective public relations campaigns and managing online communities (most recently Chevy Girls Buffalo).
She enjoys being able to help people find their voice online and to create buzz about their product or service that will give them the results they desire.
Renee can be found on Twitter (@reneemmartinez) and Facebook (http:/www.facebook.com/RubyMarCom).
Photo by TBC Photo
