Nancy Zabka and her sister lived on a dead end street in a small corner of New Jersey. Life was both innocent and safe. Strong family bonding was built from this very home environment. She looked up to her parents, especially her Mom. Her Mom sacrificed to give a little more to Nancy and her sister through those years. Nancy’s memories are filled with lots of interactions among both adults and children. In Nancy’s view, her parent’s efforts were a perfect demonstration of a balanced family upbringing.
When Nancy started her own family, she applied the soft but firm approach that she learned from her upbringing with the compatible family bonds that her husband brought from his early years.
Recognizing that today’s parents are very busy, Nancy feels the greatest demonstrated attributes are love and respect. That means unconditional love and a demonstrated respect. Teaching respect is accomplished by respecting the children, directly. She further emphasized that respect does not mean giving total freedom to the kids. There will be boundaries.