From the author: Raising children is like a sailboat, it needs both sails and a helm. Imagine that you are the captain of a sailboat. Your ship is moving at full speed, the wind is fair, the map is accurate, and a pleasant surprise awaits you at the end! But let’s say you decide that the strength and direction of the wind is not enough for you to arrive as quickly as possible. The gods have heard your requests. The wind became stronger. A hurricane, storm, gale and other maritime terms arose. How?! Are you unhappy with this weather? But why? Is the wind too strong? Are the sails unyielding and difficult to control? And again the gods listened to you. The wind died down, calm, calm. The sails drooped, the ship stopped moving. And for the third time the gods listened to you. Now the wind has become fair, and its strength is suitable. The experience of communicating with the gods has brought you good results. You have decided that you will abandon natural forces and will not aim at divine work. Your journey continues. I would like to reach my destination a little faster. You no longer encroach on the wind and sea, what remains? The steering wheel, which is the steering wheel. You precisely control it yourself and it is completely in your hands. Taking the helm firmly in your hands, you again guide the ship towards your goal. Now you put all your effort into controlling the helm. But in an attempt to control the helm and direction, forgetting about the map of underwater currents, you crash the ship or run aground. Is the voyage over? Yes, the sailing ship fantasy has come to an end. But we started with raising children. Let’s finish with this. Imagine that the sails of your ship respond to praise, encouragement and gifts for your children. How will raising a child develop in conditions of boundless praise for his actions, the selfless love of his parents, and an inexhaustible source of gifts and joys? Such a ship moves at an increasing speed. At some point, it becomes uncontrollable, and the sails begin to tear, break the masts and sink the sailboat, knocking everything out of the way along the way. What is the helm in raising children? This is criticism and punishment. Keeping your hand on the steering wheel, controlling his every movement means constantly assessing the actions and thoughts of your child, caring for and providing for every step. So much effort has to be put into such control that there is no time or desire left for anything else. Overprotection leads to loss of freedom, limited choice, and, as a consequence, rigidity and inflexibility of parents. So how to keep the ship intact and lead it to the final goal? How to raise children in joy and ease? There is no secret ingredient, as the character from the cartoon “Kung Fu Panda” said. The whole secret in sailboat control lies in balance. There is no most valuable part of the ship, they are all important and unique, and their combination gives the same effect - movement towards the goal. The most difficult thing in raising children is to find balance. Balance between praise and criticism, encouragement and punishment.