Some things deserve a second look. While doing some routine site maintenance I came across some posts I believe fall into that category. I hope you enjoy them.
(Dog in a home with two-year old twins Photo credit: EraPhernalia Vintage (playin’ hook-y ;o))
Lots of us come to parenting with a rosy picture: OUR kids will never be unhappy, never feel misunderstood, never have to struggle in school or in sports or socially. We will meet their needs and most of their wants and they will excel because… oh… because all this love and fulfillment will inspire and propel them on to great things, right?
That rosy picture is a wonderful thing. That optimism represents something very special: the deep and sometimes overpowering unconditional love that parents feel. It makes us want to make the world worthy of our precious babies. Sometimes that picture doesn’t leave much room for reality. And it can make us a little nuts.
Take a moment to think about the things you know for sure. Did they come easily? Do you look back and recognize times your parents pushed you to do something a little bit (or a lot) beyond your reach? And you fell on your face before standing on your feet? Unfortunately lots of life’s great lessons come to us the hard way.
Face it: too many parents are afraid. And we’re passing that on to our kids. It’s almost as if we have come to believe that discomfort is disability, and that letting our little ones stew a bit will create some sort of irreparable harm.
Of course it can hurt to watch a child struggle, but let’s be realistic. All struggle is not created equal and it’s important that we provide our children with perspective. Let’s not place ‘homelessness’ and ‘hurt feelings’ on the same scale.
We’ll never get back to balance if we do.
(Photo credit: CosmoPolitician)
Speaking of “classics,” are you familiar with this quote?
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.
Although it has often been attributed to Plato or Aristotle, the Quote Investigator tells us the source is neither as ancient or as famous as we think.
I’m not sure that diminishes its value.
Somehow the image of “the ancients” complaining about “kids these days” is often enough to jolt us back to the reality of our job: though a labor of love, good parenting can be hard work.
