Trust and Test.
Trust your kids, but test them.

My daughter's 11. She's perfected the overreacting, running down the hall screaming and slamming her door technique. Catch phrases are:

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Why do you hate me?"

"I hate you."


It's really all very rosy at our house most of the time — but when that volcano blows — we better get out of the way or hot molten lava will burn our skin.

Since my daughter sometimes behaves like a savage running through the jungle, and since all of us are tired of running from a raging lunatic, I've been actively hunting down all the parenting information I can get. I've been attending lectures and listening to books on CDs. I've been probing around for my own collection of catch phrases that I can use. I am just armed enough to be dangerous.

My daughter started asking me for more things that teenagers have, such as a cell phone. She wants these material things and more freedom and more time with her friends without me. Am I crazy to even consider giving her some of these things? And how much time and responsibility makes sense? I'm happy to give her more independence when it's within reason. But how do I know how much she can handle??

Recently I was talking to a parent of a three kids whose youngest is 16. I asked her, "I know it's a moving target, but what's the most important piece of advice you can give me as the parent of a preteen?"

She said:

"Trust and Test."

I looked on, eager to know more.

She continued.

"Yes. Trust your kids.

Give them every opportunity to try things, to explore, and to make mistakes.

Give them a safe environment to learn by doing. However, you absolutely, positively must check in with them to monitor their activities. Make it your point to know where they are, who they with, and exactly what they are doing.

I cannot stress this enough. They're still kids and they will be presented with bad choices.

For example, I think of my kids as being good kids. They get great grades, do well in sports, and they're involved in community service. I pride myself on being very involved in their lives. They don't know it, but I keep pretty close tabs on them.

Last month, when my daughter was in the shower, I checked through her recent cell phone text messages. I couldn't believe what I saw! I won't go into all the steamy details, but suffice to say that

she was having phone sex!

Needless to say, I was shocked. Now, I was going to have to do
something about this.

Fast forward a few weeks.

It wasn't easy, but we addressed and resolved the situation. Afterwards, I shared my experience and my frustrations with other parents. Most people never even thought about checking their kid's text message logs."

Hearing this story from a seasoned parent made me think a lot about trusting and testing. I thought long and hard about it for a few days. This story made a big impression on me. I talked about it with people I ran into. We all agreed that our kids do need us to trust them and they do need us to test them.

Our businesses need us to trust and test them too.

Here's the trust part:

• Trust that you did a good job when you
  • Set your E-Newsletter goals
  • Write it monthly
  • Publish it
  • Personally answer the emails that you get in response to it
    
    

Here's the test part:

• Check back in with your subscribers
  • Ask them how you're doing
  • See if you make the grade

   

It's kind of like talking to your kids when they're reading or they're on the computer. You can talk and talk all you like, but if no one's listening then your message will not be heard. It's kind of the same with your readers. If you don't check in with your readers and ask them how it's working for them, then the communications will be very one-sided. You may be talking, but they may not be listening.

Get the stats.

• When was the last time you looked at the results of your E-Newsletter?
• Who's reading your newsletter?
• Who's clicking through to your classes?
• Who visits your website?

Just like checking the log on a cell phone, it only takes a few minutes but it's really important that you do it.

If you don't check the stats to see how you're doing, then your readers could be unsatisfied and may look for affection elsewhere.

Trust that you've done your homework to create an E-Newsletter that is entertaining and engaging. And test that premise on a regular basis to be sure you're making the grade.

Trust and Test.

Epilogue

        "When a tree falls in a lonely forest,
                      and no animal is near by to hear it,
                      does it make a sound?"

When a teenager acts in a way that's inappropriate
                       and no one sees it,
                       is it still wrong?

You are receiving this email from Christine Pinney Marketing because you benefited from our marketing services, subscribed on our website, or expressed an interest in learning about improving your electronic communications. You are trusted friends, colleagues, and business partners.

We look forward to keeping you informed and entertained with short tips and tricks. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, add christine@christinepinney.com to your address book today.

If you haven't done so already, click to confirm your interest in receiving emails from us. To no longer receive our emails, simply click to unsubscribe.