Episode 38

full
Published on:

20th Apr 2022

10 Reasons Why It Is Important To Have Multi-Generational Relationships For Your Kids

Having friends outside of your typical peers can be some of the most rewarding and I want to share the top 10 reasons why, as a parent, it is beneficial to have your child be friends with all generations from the young to the very mature.  

How does it affect your parenting?  Your child? Their future?  Tune in for this quick, but impactful episode!

About the Host:

Nellie Harden is a wife of 20+ years, mom to 4 teen/tween daughters, dreamer, adventurer, servant, multipreneur, forever student, and a devoted teacher, but her ride-or-die passion is her work as a Family Life Coach & Mentor. 

Coming from a career background in marine mammal sciences, behavioral work, and a host of big life experiences, both great and not some not so great, she decided that designing a life of purpose and freedom was how she and her husband, along with their 4 daughters, wanted to live. 

Her work and passions exist in the realms of family and parent mentorship because she believes that a family filled with creativity, fun, laughter, challenge, adventure, problem-solving, hugs, good food, and learning can not only change a person’s life but is the best chance at positively changing the world. 

She helps families build Self-Led Discipline™ & Leadership Into their homes, sets their children up for a wildly successful life on their terms, and elevates the family experience with big joy, palpable peace, and everyday growth!

With a lifelong passion and curiosity in thought, choice, behavior, and growth she has found incredible joy in helping families shift perspective, find answers, and a path forward.

 

(Nellie has been coaching families for over 10 years and has degrees in Biology, Animal Behavior and Psychology. ) 

 

LINKS:

Family Success Vault- https://www.nellieharden.com/vault

Website- https://www.nellieharden.com

Online Community- https://www.facebook.com/groups/the6570project

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/nellieharden/   

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/nellie.harden/

 

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcasts review

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Transcript
Nellie Harden:

Hello and welcome to the 6570 family project

Nellie Harden:

podcast. If you are a parent of a tween teen or somewhere on the

Nellie Harden:

way, this is exactly the place for you. This is the playground

Nellie Harden:

for parents who want to raise their kids with intention,

Nellie Harden:

strength and joy. Come and hear all the discussions, get all the

Nellie Harden:

tactics and have lots of laughs along the way. We will dive into

Nellie Harden:

the real challenges and raising kids today how to show up as

Nellie Harden:

parents and teach your kids how to show up as members of the

Nellie Harden:

family and individuals of the world. My name is Mellie Hardin,

Nellie Harden:

big city girl turn small town sipping iced tea on the front

Nellie Harden:

porch mama, who loves igniting transformation in the hearts and

Nellie Harden:

minds of families by helping them build self love, discipline

Nellie Harden:

and leadership that elevate the family experience, and sets the

Nellie Harden:

kids up with a rock solid foundation, they can launch

Nellie Harden:

their life on all before they ever leave home. This is the

Nellie Harden:

6570 family project. Let's go

Nellie Harden:

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the 6570

Nellie Harden:

family project podcast where we are putting aside the power

Nellie Harden:

struggles and finding the way to lead our young women toward the

Nellie Harden:

confidence, respect and wisdom that they need to prepare them

Nellie Harden:

for the outside world. And today, we have a great topic

Nellie Harden:

that a lot of parents really don't think about, but is super

Nellie Harden:

important to me. And a huge part of development, especially of

Nellie Harden:

perspective. So today, we're going to talk about the top 10

Nellie Harden:

reasons why it is so important to have multi generational

Nellie Harden:

relationships for your kids. And what I mean by that is not just

Nellie Harden:

your 10th grader being friends with other 10th graders or your

Nellie Harden:

sixth grader being friends with other sixth graders, that is

Nellie Harden:

important, but it is really important to to bust out of

Nellie Harden:

those constraints and those boundaries, and have friends

Nellie Harden:

that are younger and older. So that we can start to gain a lot

Nellie Harden:

of this perspective and wisdom. So that really is our number one

Nellie Harden:

reason right there, your child will see and hear things from

Nellie Harden:

other people's perspectives. Now perspective is something that we

Nellie Harden:

gain along life's path. And we just keep gaining more and more

Nellie Harden:

and more. Think about every experience as a new lens that is

Nellie Harden:

being put into the great telescope that you view life

Nellie Harden:

with. Every one's perspective is very different. There's not a

Nellie Harden:

single pair of people that does or ever has, or ever will exist,

Nellie Harden:

that has the same exact perspective because we all live

Nellie Harden:

different lives. And when your child can see and hear things

Nellie Harden:

from other people's perspectives, then it broadens

Nellie Harden:

that idea for them. And it's not just the this is my way or the

Nellie Harden:

highway. And this is what I think and I'm going to throw out

Nellie Harden:

anything that anyone else thinks right? In our teen and tween

Nellie Harden:

world, especially for our young women today, it is very easy to

Nellie Harden:

walk that line, they are simultaneously being told that

Nellie Harden:

what you want is what you should have, and it is your way or the

Nellie Harden:

highway and you know the heck with everyone else. But also at

Nellie Harden:

the same time saying we need to accept and fully embrace

Nellie Harden:

everybody. And it's very confusing for our young women.

Nellie Harden:

And so when we can hear things from other people's

Nellie Harden:

perspectives, especially people that have lived in multiple

Nellie Harden:

generations with multiple quote unquote, trends and things like

Nellie Harden:

this, then it can give so much more perspective to our young

Nellie Harden:

women today as to what's happening right now. Because if

Nellie Harden:

they're living in the fishbowl of what is happening right now

Nellie Harden:

and thinking this is the way it always has been and always will

Nellie Harden:

be, then that can be a really tough place when things

Nellie Harden:

inevitably change because we all know that they will. And so

Nellie Harden:

hearing things from other people's point of view can kind

Nellie Harden:

of break that fishbowl a little bit and help them see things

Nellie Harden:

more from an aerial point of view, and how things are

Nellie Harden:

constantly changing in world culture in school culture and

Nellie Harden:

child culture. And, and all of those. So seeing and hearing

Nellie Harden:

things from other people's perspectives is gold. And then

Nellie Harden:

we have number two, which is wisdom from people who have

Nellie Harden:

actually been there, right? Maybe your child is in a

Nellie Harden:

relationship and they're all you know, flustered and they don't

Nellie Harden:

know what to do and you've tried talking to them, but you're just

Nellie Harden:

the parent and they don't want to necessarily listen to you. So

Nellie Harden:

maybe there's somebody else that they can talk to someone who has

Nellie Harden:

really fallen in love someone who has really had these

Nellie Harden:

experiences. and can hear them out, right? Maybe there's

Nellie Harden:

something happening in the world, and there's conflict in

Nellie Harden:

the world. And they're feeling very heavy about that. And they

Nellie Harden:

want to talk to somebody that has been there during other

Nellie Harden:

world conflicts, right? How that made them feel. Maybe they are

Nellie Harden:

going through some sort of obstacle, and this other person,

Nellie Harden:

no matter what age they are, they have been through that

Nellie Harden:

obstacle before. In fact, one of my daughters is very interested

Nellie Harden:

in acting. And so we happen to know somebody that is a child

Nellie Harden:

actor. And so I recommended getting on the phone with that

Nellie Harden:

person. And because this other young lady is younger than my

Nellie Harden:

daughter, she was like, I could not, I could not get advice from

Nellie Harden:

someone younger than me, I was like, girl, she has way, way,

Nellie Harden:

way, way, way, way more experienced than you do. So this

Nellie Harden:

would be a really good conversation to have. And it

Nellie Harden:

breaks. And through that conversation that we had, I was

Nellie Harden:

able to break through some of her resistance to I am this age,

Nellie Harden:

I cannot learn from someone younger than me, I can mentor I

Nellie Harden:

can teach, I can lead someone younger. But I cannot be taught

Nellie Harden:

by someone younger than me, which we all know, as we get

Nellie Harden:

older man is going to happen a lot. So it's a good thing to

Nellie Harden:

start learning early and good conversations to have. So number

Nellie Harden:

three is reinforcement of your own parenting from others. So in

Nellie Harden:

this one, maybe someone or something is happening in your

Nellie Harden:

home. And there's a little bit of a wall up between you and

Nellie Harden:

your child, because there's some you know, maybe the wall is made

Nellie Harden:

out of some animosity, some frustration, some embarrassment,

Nellie Harden:

some, I don't want to do it because I don't want to do it.

Nellie Harden:

You're telling me because you're just trying to get me to do what

Nellie Harden:

you want me to do type of thing, right? I know you're I can, I

Nellie Harden:

can hear and feel you all nodding at me right now. So

Nellie Harden:

maybe talking to another person would look like, I know this

Nellie Harden:

feels hard right now. But they are really doing this because

Nellie Harden:

they love you. And I've seen what happens when parents don't

Nellie Harden:

do this. And that's not where you want to be. Right? So

Nellie Harden:

reinforcement of your own parenting very powerful. Number

Nellie Harden:

four, is others can lift them up in ways that you can't, right.

Nellie Harden:

You're so beautiful, is told to you by your husband sometimes.

Nellie Harden:

And you're like, Oh, thank you, you know, and then your neighbor

Nellie Harden:

who you don't even know as well says, Wow, you look really

Nellie Harden:

beautiful today. And you're like, well, thank you really,

Nellie Harden:

really? Oh, wow. Well, thank you so much, right? And so getting

Nellie Harden:

compliments, and really getting lifted up from other people can

Nellie Harden:

be very, very powerful. My kids tell me all the time, if they

Nellie Harden:

walk in, I'm like, Wow, you look really beautiful. Today, you

Nellie Harden:

have to say that you're my mom. And I was like, Well, no, I

Nellie Harden:

don't have to say it. And yes, I am your mom, but you really are

Nellie Harden:

beautiful today. But I know that if they went out and somebody

Nellie Harden:

else told them that they were beautiful that it would mean

Nellie Harden:

even more. So just some, some cues there to always lift up

Nellie Harden:

other people, right? Number five, you can gain insight of

Nellie Harden:

your child from different perspectives of the people that

Nellie Harden:

they are with. And that is really key. Because, again, we

Nellie Harden:

only see through our one lens, right, our one telescope, if you

Nellie Harden:

will, that's filled with our hundreds of 1000s of lenses of

Nellie Harden:

perspective we've collected along the way. And so when we're

Nellie Harden:

seeing it one way, maybe somebody else that's talking to

Nellie Harden:

them, and then you talk to them afterwards can see it from an

Nellie Harden:

entirely different perspective and give you clarity that you

Nellie Harden:

just never knew was there before, right? So what others

Nellie Harden:

you can see what others see. And your children can many times

Nellie Harden:

show different faces to different people, right? So you

Nellie Harden:

see one side, and they're showing another side to somebody

Nellie Harden:

else. And so that is another exposure that you can have in

Nellie Harden:

order to get to know your child more. And you're when you're out

Nellie Harden:

there and people tell you about your kids. Like, I get told a

Nellie Harden:

lot. You know, your children are just so polite. They're so grown

Nellie Harden:

up and I do not say that to my own horn. What I'm saying is

Nellie Harden:

when I am home and there is ruckus and chaos, and there is

Nellie Harden:

you know, Sr, SAS and there is all these things happening. And

Nellie Harden:

I'm like, oh my goodness, right? And then I go out in public. And

Nellie Harden:

you know, they're still doing some of that, but we're just

Nellie Harden:

being our normal, goofy selves. And I have someone come up and

Nellie Harden:

say your girls are so polite and so well mannered. I'm like,

Nellie Harden:

really? Oh, well, thank you so much, right? It's hard to see

Nellie Harden:

when you're so close and so other people bring the

Nellie Harden:

perspective of backing up and seeing what's really going on.

Nellie Harden:

Alright, and another one number six, is it is more realistic to

Nellie Harden:

the real world to have multi generational relationships

Nellie Harden:

right. Once they graduate High School and they are not in their

Nellie Harden:

class anymore. They are thrust into either the workforce or

Nellie Harden:

university setting where there is multiple different, different

Nellie Harden:

ages. And so if we can get them communicating effectively with

Nellie Harden:

older generations and younger generations before they leave

Nellie Harden:

home, than they will be set up with that much more their self

Nellie Harden:

esteem, right? How they value and appreciate your themselves

Nellie Harden:

will be so much more equipped, if we can do that and give them

Nellie Harden:

those experiences before they leave home. And then teaching

Nellie Harden:

the younger generation. So now I'm specifically talking about

Nellie Harden:

younger generations there. It gives them a leadership role, a

Nellie Harden:

teaching role, a caregiving role, and it really does keep

Nellie Harden:

them young too. It helps them realize when they are, you know,

Nellie Harden:

in their tweens, and they're in middle school, and they're like,

Nellie Harden:

I cannot, you know, quote, unquote, play anymore, I can

Nellie Harden:

only hang out, but then maybe a neighbor kid comes over or a

Nellie Harden:

cousin or even a younger sibling, and all of a sudden,

Nellie Harden:

they are doing Legos, and they're maybe even I don't know,

Nellie Harden:

playing with dolls, or doing makeup and all these things. And

Nellie Harden:

they're like, Oh, well, we're just still hanging out, we're

Nellie Harden:

not playing, but you know, that they're playing. So that's okay,

Nellie Harden:

we want them to be able to enjoy all the aspects of imagination

Nellie Harden:

and play play is so important. There's experts on play out

Nellie Harden:

there for even adults. And so we don't want to ever put play on a

Nellie Harden:

shelf, right, and being around younger people that allows them

Nellie Harden:

to keep play an active in their life. And then obviously, having

Nellie Harden:

friends of the same age is very beneficial because it helps them

Nellie Harden:

because they're going through the same challenges many of the

Nellie Harden:

same challenges, right, they're being exposed to the same

Nellie Harden:

things. They have different perspectives from different

Nellie Harden:

families. But they can, you know, they're having the same

Nellie Harden:

history test, or they're are going to the CTS, at the same

Nellie Harden:

time, they're having end of year exams at the same time, those

Nellie Harden:

type of things are very, and not to mention, maybe they have

Nellie Harden:

grown up with them for a long time. So there's long term

Nellie Harden:

relationships in there, too. And then number nine is learning how

Nellie Harden:

to cultivate friendships. You know, if we just gave them the

Nellie Harden:

small pool of, of children, or kids or teenagers that are in

Nellie Harden:

their class, then that is a very small pool compared to the

Nellie Harden:

world. And so when we can teach them how to go out and make more

Nellie Harden:

friendships, both older, same age and younger, then they're

Nellie Harden:

going to have that much more practice on how to cultivate

Nellie Harden:

friendships. And it really is a beautiful thing. And lastly, is

Nellie Harden:

independence, right? They don't have to rely on you for all of

Nellie Harden:

their entertainment, they don't have to rely on you for all of

Nellie Harden:

their guidance, you are their primary guidance, hands down,

Nellie Harden:

you are the family architecture, as parents, you are building

Nellie Harden:

designing and planning with them in the second half of childhood.

Nellie Harden:

But you don't have to do it alone. This is the village

Nellie Harden:

concept, right? It takes a village. And so they can go out

Nellie Harden:

and seek guidance from other people bring it back, digest it

Nellie Harden:

with you digest it with themselves and their quiet time

Nellie Harden:

and all of these things. So independence is definitely part

Nellie Harden:

of that. So those are a lot of reasons right there, why it's so

Nellie Harden:

important to have those multi generational friendships. And it

Nellie Harden:

all really does come down to growing that self esteem like I

Nellie Harden:

talked about. And speaking of self esteem, you guys may 9

Nellie Harden:

through 14th Is the Ignite her joy parenting workshop. If you

Nellie Harden:

have not registered yet, be sure to go and register. It is Nelly

Nellie Harden:

hardin.com/ignite. And this is a recurring. So even if this is

Nellie Harden:

past May, when you are listening to this, that is okay, you can

Nellie Harden:

still go on and register for the next one. Because this is for

Nellie Harden:

people that want to walk away with an understanding of the

Nellie Harden:

thought process that your daughter has more than you've

Nellie Harden:

ever known before. How much would you love to know her

Nellie Harden:

thought process right? And be able to build that with her, you

Nellie Harden:

will be able to have a solid framework you can implement

Nellie Harden:

immediately to ground them in not grounding, as in punishment.

Nellie Harden:

We're talking about grounded real self esteem, not selfie

Nellie Harden:

esteem, self esteem. Okay, those are two very different things.

Nellie Harden:

We've all seen the teens and tweens that are all glum and

Nellie Harden:

melancholy, and even, you know, depressed looking. And then they

Nellie Harden:

put on this huge smile, snap a picture of themselves, and then

Nellie Harden:

they go to look at it. And as soon as they're looking at it,

Nellie Harden:

it's all glum and sad again, right? And that is not how we

Nellie Harden:

want our young women to be not at all and then have clarity

Nellie Harden:

over why decisions were made in the past. To know how you can

Nellie Harden:

help them make better decisions in the future, and have the

Nellie Harden:

tools to guide your daughter toward more joy than she has

Nellie Harden:

ever experienced before. This is for all parents that have

Nellie Harden:

children, young women between nine and 18, or on the way

Nellie Harden:

there, and I want to see you there. So Nellie

Nellie Harden:

hardin.com/ignite That is definitely where you want to go.

Nellie Harden:

Okay, you guys, that was a great episode today. I hope you're,

Nellie Harden:

you're young women, your children, all of your children

Nellie Harden:

go out and grab friendships and start cultivating those. And

Nellie Harden:

growing those friendships with people younger, the same age and

Nellie Harden:

older and even much older than they are, it will be a

Nellie Harden:

beautiful, beautiful thing. So next week, we will be back with

Nellie Harden:

another episode. And remember, keep teaching, keep laughing

Nellie Harden:

keep loving and above all, remember to keep showing up with

Nellie Harden:

intention in this 6570 days of the parenthood childhood

Nellie Harden:

experience, because they need you. Alright, everyone, have a

Nellie Harden:

great week.

Nellie Harden:

Thank you so much for listening today. And I hope you were able

Nellie Harden:

to take something from our discussion that you can use to

Nellie Harden:

build the foundation of self love leadership in your own

Nellie Harden:

family. If you are a parent with children, 17 or younger, and

Nellie Harden:

especially those around nine and up, I would love to extend an

Nellie Harden:

invitation to you to the best club in town. The family

Nellie Harden:

architects Club is a private club where intentional parents

Nellie Harden:

go that want to love support, connect or reconnect and really

Nellie Harden:

truly help guide their kids and teach them how to self lead in

Nellie Harden:

discipline and leadership. This is an online community and the

Nellie Harden:

you are welcome to it. Parenting is a project and you are the

Nellie Harden:

architects of this one. You plan you design and oversee the

Nellie Harden:

construction of the beginning of someone else's life. And that's

Nellie Harden:

what goes into these first 6570 days. And it will be the

Nellie Harden:

foundation for the rest of their lives. So come join the club.

Nellie Harden:

You can find your invitation on the front page of my website

Nellie Harden:

Nelly hardin.com. That is N E ll ie H AR d e n.com. Thank you

Nellie Harden:

again for being a part of this conversation today. And if

Nellie Harden:

something really resonated with you, or if you have a question,

Nellie Harden:

please don't hesitate to connect with me. You can find me on

Nellie Harden:

Instagram at Nelly Hardin. And lastly, if you love the

Nellie Harden:

information, please please leave a five star review and a comment

Nellie Harden:

so more and more families can be impacted by harnessing the

Nellie Harden:

strength of these ideas and tools in their own families. So

Nellie Harden:

thank you so much. Happy building you guys and I'll see

Show artwork for The 6570 Family Project

About the Podcast

The 6570 Family Project
with Nellie Harden
If you are a parent of a tween, teen or somewhere on the way, this is exactly the place for you!
This is the playground for parents who want to raise their kids with intention, strength and joy to come and hear all the discussions, get all the tactics and have lots of laughs along the way!

We will dive into the real challenges in raising kids today and how to show up as parents AND teach your kids to show up as members of the family and individuals in the world.

My name is Nellie Harden. Big city girl turned small town, front porch, iced tea sippin’ momma who loves igniting transformation in the hearts and minds of families by helping them build Self-Led Discipline™ and Leadership to elevate the family experience and set the kids up with a rock solid foundation they can launch their life on all before they even leave home!

About your host

Profile picture for Nellie Harden

Nellie Harden