The Parent Samurai Story

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Parent Samurai is dedicated to helping parents raise teens with confidence, compassion and steely resolve.  The authors of Parent Samurai are Shannon Betts, a middle school teacher, and Brian Betts, a program manager.  We are parents of teens. Together, we’ve studied the many baby- and child-raising gurus before settling on a parenting framework of common sense, ethical values and the Bushido Code of the Samurai. It may surprise some to find the Bushido Code applied to parenting in the modern world. Yet, the Samurai, in their purest form, strove to reach the highest ideal of humanity.

When our kids reached their teens, much of the conventional wisdom didn’t seem to fit anymore.  And there are far fewer experts advising how to parent the chameleon teen.  We knew other families out there were dealing with all of the influences our own teens faced.

We created the site in 2018 to share our perspective, research and credible resources with other parents.

All of us need a strong and intentional framework to guide our parenting. In a quickly shifting world, a guiding set of values and beliefs is a cornerstone of raising teenagers.  

As parents of teens, we’re all tested every day!

We experience these 8 principles as timeless and universal to raising teens:

• Justice – An inner compass detecting the difference between right and wrong
• Courage – Showing up every day, even in difficult circumstances
• Compassion – Acceptance of self and others
• Respect – Valuing others and self
• Honesty &  Integrity – Honoring authenticity in ourselves and others
• Honor – Recognition and appreciation
• Loyalty – Unconditional love; steadfast fidelity to your family
• Character & Self Control – the cornerstone and biggest challenge of raising teens

Effective parenting is built on consistency.  A set of values, flexibly applied, allows parents to make deliberate choices to help support the growth and development of our teens.

Thanks for visiting. We’re glad you’re here!