What do you do to be a successful parent? As a teacher, I...don't...know....
I have seen perceived great parents with great kids.
I have seen perceived great parents with troubled children.
I have seen perceived bad parents with troubled children.
And I have seen perceived bad parents with great kids.
I don't know.
I feel that my parents were great parents and my sister and I turned out ok, at least I did. Just kidding sis. But the one constant thing that I remember growing up was that my parents were there. No matter what was going on, they were there. I may not have always liked that they were there, but now as an adult and as a parent myself, I am so glad that they did that.
So what do we do as parents? I don't know, but I will be there for my kids. I will be open about what I want for them, I will be open about what I think they should do, and I will be open to listen to them as they grow up and have their own opinions.
I will protect them for the rest of their lives. That may mean infringing on their privacy, or waiting for them to ask.
But I will be there.
I have come to the conclusion that all parents, even the best, mess up their kids in some way. We can't help it, we're humans and we often want to force onto our children all of the things we want for them, I've just decided that I will mess them up as little as possible, or try.
And I will be there.
I love them and I understand that I can protect them to an extent, but part of their growth is allowing them to fail, to fall, to hurt....
And I will be there.
