Dear Zachary,

As you enter early adolescence, exciting times are indeed ahead as your world opens up to new experiences, but before you step out and begin your journey to becoming an adult, I hope you remember these five lessons that have always been a part of our many conversations all throughout your young life; most from books that I’ve read, many from homilies of our favorite priest, some my personal realizations.

Do your kids have household chores that they are truly accountable for? By “truly accountable” I mean one that if they do it, you, the parent (or your housekeepers) won’t be re-doing the chore once the child is out-of-sight; or if they don’t, then that job remains undone and your child is held answerable for not doing it? I just had to qualify because based on what I’ve observed, chores for kids, more often than not, mean “playtime activity” than a routine, necessary task that actually contributes to the household, effectively helping to off-load us parents or the hired help from the real task-at-hand.