Expect it and it will come; reach for it and it will instill hope and dedication and purpose and all kinds of great things; take it for granted and it will always slip away.

Choose your words carefully when you speak to your children, see situations clearly, from all sides, and be abundantly and absolutely consistent, in all things at all times.

You can't simply go through the motions and phone this parent-child thing in at the end of the day. You can't ask questions and not listen to the answers. You can't be there in a physical sense without being there in every other sense as well; emotionally, wholeheartedly, spiritually and every other way besides.

If each and every one of us kept to our word, on matters big and small, day after day after day, there'd be no such things as neglect, disappointment or false hope.

The need to cheer extends far beyond sports, and cuts into every aspect of their lives, from school to relationships to small, personal achievements. At all times, it's important for our children to hear us cheering them on, to get the message, "Hey, I'm here for you. I'm pulling for you."

Downloading onto our children a clear, value-laden understanding of, a familiarity with, and an appreciation and respect for money is all-important, and it's never too soon to start.

In one way or another, we must be accountable, and we must make our children accountable, whether that accountability stretches to some higher being or to some vaguely delineated sense of civic-mindedness or to simply doing the right thing by the right people.