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description: "As you and I are getting to know each other on this No Regrets Parenting blog, I thought I’d share a few words about&nbsp;why and how I developed the&nbsp;No Regrets Parenting approach. As our kids, one-by-one, left for college, we looked back at…"
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# The Origins and Evolution of “No Regrets Parenting”

January 9, 2012 1 min read 

As you and I are getting to know each other on this No Regrets Parenting blog, I thought I’d share a few words about why and how I developed the No Regrets Parenting approach.

As our kids, one-by-one, left for college, we looked back at their childhoods and felt enormous gratitude for the moments and memories we had with them when they were growing up. As parents, we felt fulfilled and satisfied that during the years our kids had been at home, from the wondrous crib days through their leaving for college, we were blessed to have been there with them in a deep and meaningful way. We are much the richer for that intimacy with our kids’ lives, and we hope they are as well.

Increasingly, though, I heard other stories from our generation of parents as their kids left for college or other adult pursuits. Sad stories from the parents of my patients and from personal friends whose careers and adult responsibilities had so overtaken their lives that when their kids left home these parents felt as if they had missed knowing their kids. Childhood had gone by too quickly. Parents wishing they could do it over again, re-prioritize their lives. Parents with profound regrets.

Over the past 30 years, I have conducted countless personal interviews with parents of kids at all ages and stages of childhood. As a pediatrician, I am privileged to be witness to best parenting practices and, unfortunately, also have witnessed parenting strategies that aren’t working. I used those observations and parent testimonials, as well as fond recollections of our own kids’ childhoods, to formulate the No Regrets Parenting concept.

Please share your thoughts as we go forward together towards parenthood without regrets.

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HR

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Harley Rotbart, M.D. 

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