Find out what it means to Live Sturdy.
The Value of Struggle
As we have gone further down the road of embracing the “therapeutic” approach to parenting, we have lost both our ability to parent well and raise children who can handle the normal rigors of life. When parents, knowingly or unknowingly, minimize natural disappointments for their children, or intervene to rescue them from difficulty or relational conflict, they win a short-term victory at the cost of a much larger long-term goal. In the moment, easy feels great, but struggle is inherently uncomfortable and often upsetting to children.
The reality is that struggle is required in order for children to grow into “sturdy adults” – adults who can face life’s challenges with maturity, resilience and perseverance. If we want our children to be able to do hard things, we must allow them to struggle.
The irony is that despite all the effort we spend trying to make our children happy, what we are actually accomplishing is ensuring they are fragile and will never be able to experience true joy. When people are fragile, they shy away from difficulty and challenge in order to protect themselves. But this means they miss out on the richest experiences life has to offer. Fragile people can’t handle the rigors of relationships and life, so they can’t experience true joy. The cycle perpetuates itself through generations. Adults who did not learn to struggle well themselves will raise children who do not know how to struggle well. The impacts of this progression are felt not only by individuals and families, but society at large. Children who learn to struggle well throughout their school-age years will grow up to be the natural leaders of the next generation.
The eventual outcome of embracing the “therapeutic” paradigm is a student body and parent community that is naturally averse to being challenged, working hard, and struggling to truly contemplate that which is True, Beautiful, and Good.
“Healthy Struggle is the engine to Growth and Maturity!”
- Keith McCurdy
“Keith’s counter-cultural approach to parenting is a breath of fresh air. He teaches that self-confidence, rather than self-esteem, is the ultimate goal, and that healthy struggle is the engine to growth and maturity. Keith’s ideas are grounded in truth. He gives parents the tools needed to ensure their children grow into sturdy, mature adults”
-Josh and Kristin
Keith A. McCurdy, M.A., Ed. S
I am a Family and Parenting Educator and Consultant, as well as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Virginia. I have worked with families, children, parents, and individuals for over 30 years in the field of mental health.
I provide consulting and coaching services nationally on improving parenting skills, building strong marriages, maintaining healthy relationships, leadership training, and addressing corporate stress management. I have developed and regularly offer parenting retreats entitled “Raising Sturdy Kids” to help parents operate from the correct paradigm with their children and have extended and customized this powerful program for schools and students. I also provide counseling services in person and via teletherapy throughout the state of Virginia at Total Life Counseling, Inc.
I received my Master of Arts and Education Specialist degrees from James Madison University. I am currently the President and Founder of Live Sturdy, LLC, and President and CEO of Total Life Counseling, Inc. For many years I have been a consultant and speaker nationally to businesses, churches, and schools (public, private, faith based and within the world of Classical Education.)
I previously served as Chairman of the Board at Faith Christian School, a Christian classical school in Roanoke, VA. I am a regular contributor on the BaseCamp Live podcast, with multiple interviews, and the “McCurdy Moment” segments, as well as being featured on the Circe Institute’s podcast “The Commons” and “Crosspolitic.”
My primary focus is helping others better understand how a Therapeutic worldview, and often psychology itself, has worked to undermine morality, healthy family functioning, and our ability to equip our children to thrive in this world. A significant part of my work is helping parents understand the needed benefit of allowing their children to struggle to learn to do hard things.
I am an avid outdoorsman and enjoy living in the beautiful Roanoke Valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my wife.