Lately there have been more articles than I can count about parenting, and particularly American parenting, and why it is completely misplaced in its priorities, has a shaky foundation and causes kids to be spoiled. Everyone is reading them, everyone is sharing them.
It seems like parents are reading them with the earnest intent to reveal their new avatar to their unsuspecting children. And parents-to-be are "bracing themselves" for what is coming up. There may be quite a bit of truth in them, but I wonder how much good these articles are really doing.
I remember how insanely in love I was when I was expecting. Really, all I felt was the magic of the cycle of life, and I couldn't wait for the future to unravel itself. I couldn't wait to meet my baby. That's all I really felt and thought about. No parenting books, no planning... things took their course...and I wouldn't want it any other way, in retrospect.
Much as I am serious about not raising dependent, needy or irresponsible children, I still think these articles make parents "play defensive", as if they were going to the battlefield when they interfaced with their kid.
I struggle, and I fight- with my toddler, his whims and his tantrums. But my basic view of parenting will not change- a parent has to put nurturing, more than anything, at the top of the list. Love rules. And second is honesty. Instead of patting the kid on his back, or even not expressing anything when you're disappointed in something he did, tell him that you're not proud of what he did. This and showing by example things like working hard, helping people around, etc. is all that counts, I think.
I am not saying that I discovered the guaranteed path to raise a successful kid. No idea what my kid will turn out to be like! But I think those priorities are right regardless...
It seems like parents are reading them with the earnest intent to reveal their new avatar to their unsuspecting children. And parents-to-be are "bracing themselves" for what is coming up. There may be quite a bit of truth in them, but I wonder how much good these articles are really doing.
I remember how insanely in love I was when I was expecting. Really, all I felt was the magic of the cycle of life, and I couldn't wait for the future to unravel itself. I couldn't wait to meet my baby. That's all I really felt and thought about. No parenting books, no planning... things took their course...and I wouldn't want it any other way, in retrospect.
Much as I am serious about not raising dependent, needy or irresponsible children, I still think these articles make parents "play defensive", as if they were going to the battlefield when they interfaced with their kid.
I struggle, and I fight- with my toddler, his whims and his tantrums. But my basic view of parenting will not change- a parent has to put nurturing, more than anything, at the top of the list. Love rules. And second is honesty. Instead of patting the kid on his back, or even not expressing anything when you're disappointed in something he did, tell him that you're not proud of what he did. This and showing by example things like working hard, helping people around, etc. is all that counts, I think.
I am not saying that I discovered the guaranteed path to raise a successful kid. No idea what my kid will turn out to be like! But I think those priorities are right regardless...
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