Jeff Nelligan is an Army Veteran that is recognized as one of the foremost commentators in the world of American Parenting. His book “Four Lessons from My Three Sons; How You Can Raise Resilient Kids” spent four months on the Amazon Parenting Best Seller’s List. His works have also been cited in numerous parenting magazines.

In addition to his Army Service, he formerly worked for three members of our US Congress and was twice a Presidential appointee. He currently works as a Senior Public Affairs executive in Washington, DC

Jeff shares a shocking statistic. Seventy five percent of the time you will spend in your children’s lives will take place before the time they reach 12 years old.

He emphasizes that raising resilient children must be an INTENTIONAL strategy.  The four elements of his strategy is based upon four eternal military values; courtesy, confidence, ambition & resilience in adversity.  We discuss several examples of the techniques and exercises he would conduct on a daily basis with his three sons.  He started at a young age and often made the “tests” fun so that they would more easily get engaged.  It is important to teach a child the importance of building relationships with the real world early in life. They will then have the “muscle memory” to face challenges that will inevitably arise.

All of Jeff’s sons have now embarked on military careers of their own. They still use “key phrases” they learned from those early life lessons taught by their father.

I cannot recall the last time I found so much value in only 140 pages. I highly recommend “Four Lessons from My Three Sons; How You Can Raise Resilient Kids”.  The book would also make an excellent gift for new parents.

TAKEAWAY:  “If you don’t have a strategy for raising your kids, society will do it for you – and that may not be something you want.