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Encouraging Heroes. You can be one too.

Longtime readers will remember that HIP program that I undertook in 2009. HIP stands for Heroes In Parenting. With all the depressing news that surrounds us, I really felt the need to highlight people who are doing good things with their kids. Here we are 2 years later, and we’re still surrounded by some pretty depressing news every day. How many of you can even stand to watch the news daily? I can’t. Bleh. Terrible.

The truth is, though, that there are literally millions of people on this planet doing wonderful things every day. So many of those people are out there being the best parents they can be. Will you see them on the news anytime soon? I didn’t think so.

When you operate a web site, you can see what search phrases people use to get to your site. I was stunned recently to see that someone found mine by typing the phrase “I am a failure as a parent”. Knowing that a mom or a dad perceives themselves that way is just plain heartbreaking. It’s so easy to criticize our own efforts…to believe that we’re completely failing at this job. And let’s face it: parenting isn’t easy. None of us are going to get it right all the time.

But so many people are getting it right a lot of the time. And the rest of us can learn from their examples. We can realize that “if that person can do it, then so can I”. We can take heart and renew our strength and determination to get up every day and give our children our best, because that’s really what good parenting is about.

There are so many ways that a person can be a parenting hero. It might be volunteering to coach a sport or lead a club. It could be staying in the ICU with a cancer-stricken child. Or maybe it’s just fixing a favorite dessert even though the day has been long.

Whatever the scenario, the HIP program is about celebrating the successes and the inspirations. If you know someone who qualifies, you can nominate them right here on the blog.

You see, back in 2009 I thought I could go out and read blogs and find all the HIP people myself. Yea. Billions of blogs….me reading. I kept it up for 6 months, but I just couldn’t read fast enough. I planned to fix the program, but didn’t get it figured out and implemented before I got hurt. Nothing like suffering a massive injury to slow life down. Anyways. Here we are in 2011 and it’s time to get this back on line.

So! Here’s what the plan is. You notice someone doing something great, and you let them know that you think they’re HIP. There are some adorable badges on the HIP page that you are free to share. Anyone who’s been awarded a badge is welcome to nominate some parents that they want to honor as well.

For my part, all nominees that I know about will be highlighted in the monthly newsletter and on the HIP gallery page. I’m hoping to write blog posts featuring individuals as well. How might I learn that someone has been nominated? Glad you asked! There’s a form on the HIP page that you can use to let me know about a nominee.

I can’t change the whole world with this little initiative. Maybe I can encourage someone though, and maybe someone else will get inspired. Or maybe a parent who’s doing a good job will get the energy to keep up the good work. If any one of those things would happen….well, that would be truly wonderful.

Do you know someone who needs a HIP award? Share it with them and let me know via the nomination form. If you don’t have someone in mind, that’s okay. Bookmark this page, or share it on Facebook or Twitter. Getting the word out helps.

Thanks.

Earnest Parenting: helping to encourage parenting heroes.