Practical wisdom on raising children of character

For more than 30 years, James B. Stenson worked as an educational consultant specializing in family life and family-school relationships. He spoke to parents in nearly every major city in the United States and Canada, and in England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, Trinidad, and other countries, sharing what he had learned from decades of close work with families.

He spent 21 years helping establish two independent secondary schools for boys, The Heights School in Washington, DC, and Northridge Preparatory School in Chicago, where he served as headmaster for almost a dozen years. During that time, he came to know hundreds of families intimately and studied, up close, how parents succeed or fail in raising children who grow into competent, responsible, generous adults of good character.

Starting in 1989, he began writing what he had learned and lecturing to parents throughout the world. The "folios" collected here are short excerpts from his books and lectures, offered freely so that other parents can learn from the experience of families who came before them.

This site is maintained by a fan of his work, with written permission to distribute these folios, preserving his original ParentLeadership.com writings for parents who want to learn from them. It is not run by Mr. Stenson or his family.