Dr. Ben Carson

speaking of movies, here's another post from parentdish. I thought this was worthwhile info, for myself, if no one else.


Dr. Ben Carson's Parenting Success
by Michele Burford Feb 6th 2009 3:00PM
Categories: Just for dads, Development

How do you raise a smart, respectable child who just so happens to change history? The world renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson, MD, shares his experiences as a dad of three and the lessons of his mother, Sonya Carson, a single mom who had only a third grade education.

What's the most important lesson your mother passed on?
You are not a victim. My mother never accepted excuses from me, and when I tried to give them, she quoted a poem that began, 'You're the captain of your ship.' The bottom line is that we can go through life finding other people to blame, or we can own up to our situation and deal with it. That's exactly what I've taught my children.
Did you ever have trouble relating to your boys?
Just remember what it's like to be a kid. If you stop and think about what you once felt at your child's age, it can turn you into a considerably better parent.
How do you make time for your family?
When my children were growing up we had weekly discussions about anything that was happening in their lives. If one of the boys was dealing with a bully at school, for instance, we all talked through the possible responses and the consequence of each reaction. I [also] made it a requirement that my family accompany me on most of my trips. All my kids have frequent flyer cards for just about every airline! We've been all over the world together -- from Zion National Park in Utah, to a trip all the way down The Nile.
Has that changed now that they're in their 20s?
If you create and maintain an open relationship with your children when they are very young, when they have a question or issue as they grow up, they will come to you. And they will know that you will not judge them.
You've said that your mother working as a house cleaner was a great lesson. How?
When she worked as a house cleaner, she began noticing that the people she worked for had lives of great achievement. So she compared their environment to ours, and she asked herself, 'What's the difference?' When you notice a child doing well, find out what his or her parent is doing right. That's what my mother did.
Any examples?
I'll never forget what my mother once said to me: 'If you start reading and stop looking at TV so much, pretty soon, people will be looking at you.As it turns out, Sonya couldn't have been more right.

Watch Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dr. Carson in the TNT Original Movie, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, premiering Saturday, February 7 at 8 pm ET.