Bad Parents Make Good Kids?
My uncle had many strange sayings; sayings that would make me stop and think, “Gee, that’s not right,” but when I did think about it, he would have a point. One thing he used to say to me when my triplets were about four years old was, “Bad parents make good kids.” I really don’t want to be a “bad parent,” but I did understand his message: Parents who do too much (good parents) for their kids, keep their kids from learning to do for themselves; parents who sit back (bad parents) and let their kids take over, have kids who learn more and are more self sufficient.
I would like to share “bad” parenting moments in this blog. I have just finished three college parent orientations and read my share of “Messages from the Principal.” One common theme from those “higher ups” is that I am part of a generation of parents known as the “Helicopter Parents.” We hover over our kids and micro-manage everything they do. We want them to be successful. We like to keep them scheduled and make sure they are doing the “right” things. But, in our quest to be “good” parents, are we facilitating their eventual independence from us? Are we truly nurturing their self-image and self-esteem?
Hopefully, this will be a place where we can share stories about being “bad” parents, and letting our kids “do for themselves.” It was the reason that I invented my product, On-Task On-Time for Kids, and being a “bad” parent has been somewhat of a goal in my mind. Feel free to share your stories where letting your child take over helped him or her grow.
Add comment September 15th, 2007
