People look at me as though I’m mad. All because we have over the average 2.4 children. (I don’t really know where that statistic came from anymore.) We have four children; two boys and two girls, so it makes for a good gender balance!
When my first son was born, I didn’t really know what to do. I’d never really had a conversation, particularly with my mum, about the merits, roles and such like of bringing up a child.
The assumption out in the general population seemed to be that because you’re a woman having a baby you’ll take to parenting like a ‘duck to water’. In other words – sink or swim (or paddle in this case).
It’s a job I wasn’t ‘trained’ for and it’s one you have to pick up on and learn as you go. Talk about a steep learning curve. I think my first learning curve was about my stamina. Could I function as a real human being day after day after being deprived of sleep?
C’mon, spill the beans – What’s your first step on your huge learning curve?
Being a parent is a huge responsibility and an adventure too. It can be exciting and scary, exhilarating and exhausting, extreme highs and lows all rolled into one. Some days it might seem like guerilla warfare and the next day could go like a dream. Every day brings new challenges and opportunities. This is a great time to learn new things about yourself and your family.
An article in The Sunday Times/News Review on 11.07.10 reported about how parents perceive and foster children’s freedom.
In particular, one set of parents got into trouble for allowing their eight year old daughter and five year old son to cycle, unsupervised, one mile from their home to school. A number of disapproving parents voiced their opinions about the children’s safety. The head teacher hauled them in and were told that it was inappropriate to let children so young make their way to school alone.
They are now under the threat of being referred to Social Services (under guidance issued by the former Department for Children, Schools and Families) which compels schools to act if it “believes or suspects that a child may be suffering, or is likely to suffer significant harm”.
What are your thoughts on this issue?
Are you a parent that does everything for your children?
What do you do to foster independence in your children?
Jot down a few of your thoughts down below.
