Keith and Seth's Story

Keith loves being a dad but hates being a disciplinarian. He would much rather spend Saturday morning playing catch with his 12-year-old son Seth than monitoring his progress cleaning the basement—a consequence handed out for not getting home on time. On the other hand, Keith knows firsthand what it’s like to grow up without limits.

“I was wild. I did just about everything a kid shouldn't do. Smoked, drank, cut school, was disrespectful. I never got called on any of it until I got arrested, and then it was like, 'Whoa. What do you mean, I’m going to jail?' I finally got the message that for every action there’s a reaction. I think a lot of why I was so wild is that I was starved for discipline. I wanted some order in my life—some security. Those were lonely times. I don't want Seth to ever think I don't care about him or how he acts. That’s why I sit down with him and share my experiences and tell him why I have these rules, why I don’t want him to do certain things. He knows that if he makes a bad choice, he needs to be prepared for the consequences.”